Dortmund’s Bargain And United’s Indictment

Three years of underperformance, questionable attitude, and debatable handling by the club are coming to an end as Jadon Sancho seals a move back to Borussia Dortmund. The loan move is till the end of the season and Manchester United would be happy to send away an asset that was dead wage on the books. But, what is the Jadon Sancho fee and why does it reflect badly on United?

Here are all the details:

Jadon Sancho fee

Dortmund are paying about £4 million in loan fee to United, along with covering a portion of his salary. In addition, United will receive some performance-based bonuses for the player depending upon certain criteria.

Considering that Sancho earns upwards of £250k/week at United, another relic of Woodward era, it was always going to be hard for United to find a club that covers it completely.

Consequently, there is also no buy option in the deal since United believe that the player’s value is at its lowest ebb right now.

United hope a good six months in familiar surroundings might rekindle his form which is when they can negotiate from a much stronger position in the summer transfer window.

The summer window will also be United’s first under Sir Jim Ratcliffe so his vision for the squad should start taking place as well.

However, just because Sancho was a wasted asset at United and the club have managed to get something for him doesn’t make it a great deal. Here’s why

Indictment for United

It is another huge loss for United’s transfer policy which has seen them splurge mindless cash on players and then take huge financial hits while selling them. Sancho, bought for nearly £72 million to Old Trafford and on wages that would put any well-run club to shame, is an asset worth pretty much zero, as that’s the optic of this deal.

Dortmund will probably not pay more than £7 million combining his salary cover, loan fee, and even bonuses.

If the move doesn’t work out, they have nothing to lose, as Sancho will go back to United as an even worse financial asset than he arrived as.

Woodward has left, but his remnants still sting United and with signings like Antony after his regime, United don’t look like they have learned much anyway. The dice is now in Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s hands. Can he reverse a decade-long trend of burning money in a heap?