Dortmund reveal Sancho could’ve left for Man Utd but the ‘door closed’ as Red Devils failed to pay €120m asking price

Jadon Sancho could have secured a move to Manchester United had certain conditions been met, with Dortmund insisting that the “door closed” and that a transfer is now not possible.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have been chasing the signing of the 20-year-old all summer, with Sancho their No.1 target as they look to add to their squad before the transfer window closes on October 5.

Dortmund imposed a deadline of August 10 for any deal to be completed, however, with United having not met their €120 million (£108m/$142m) asking price.

And the Bundesliga side have been adamant that one of their star names would not be leaving the club, with sporting director Michael Zorc admitting that while there was an agreement that Sancho could leave if certain stipulations had been met, the deadline has now passed.

He told Sky in Germany: “We had clear agreements with him that he could make a transfer under certain circumstances, up to a certain point in time. And then the door closed.”

On his absence from the squad to face Freiburg, with goalkeeper Roman Burki also missing out, Zorc added: “It did not work out for today, both are not ready to play.”

It’s unclear if Dortmund’s public statements will deter United from pursuing a move for Sancho further, with just two days remaining of the summer transfer window.

As reported by Goal on September 29, the Red Devils, who have only added Donny van de Beek to their squad in what has been a disappointing lack of transfer activity, hadn’t actually lodged a formal bid for Sancho.

That has seen Ousmane Dembele’s name emerge as a possible alternative, with United now potentially looking at exploring a loan move for the Barcelona forward.

Indeed, Ronald Koeman stopped short at confirming France international Dembele would definitely be staying at Camp Nou, telling reporters on Saturday that, while he was still part of his plans, a decision to move on would be up to him.

He told reporters: “Dembele is a Barcelona player, [his future] depends on what he thinks. I’ve not spoken clearly with him about it. We will see, two days left.”

“We have a lot of competition in attack. Ansu [Fati] started the first two games ahead of him. If a player’s not happy, they can speak to me. And Ousmane’s not said anything to me. If he stays, I’m counting on him and he will get chances to play.”