Paul Merson has told the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea to forget about the prospect of splashing out on the potential transfer of Jadon Sancho.
The Borussia Dortmund star has emerged as one of European football’s brightest young talents in recent times, and surely has a big career ahead of him at an elite club.
Sancho has been linked with both Man Utd and Chelsea for as much as £120million by the Evening Standard, but could such an expensive purchase be unrealistic in this current climate?
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Coronavirus has seen the season grind to a halt, and this is bound to affect even the biggest clubs financially, meaning expensive signings like this could be off the table for some time.
That’s the view of former Arsenal star Merson, who rubbished this speculation in the Daily Star.
“All the talk about Jadon Sancho commanding a £100m-plus transfer fee has been blown out of the water if you ask me,” Merson said.
“Borussia Dortmund are said to be demanding in excess of that figure for one of Europe’s hottest young talents, but they can forget it.
“There’s no way that’s going to be happening. It’s gone – over and out. Top clubs can’t be putting staff on furlough and then start forking out that kind of money the minute the transfer window opens.
“It’s not just the fee, but with players in that price bracket comes a pay packet of around £300,000 a week and that’s just not going to be happening.
“The landscape has changed not just for everyone on the planet but for football as well. Really big-money moves may be off the table for quite some time.
“With the financial situation as it is, how would it look for clubs struggling to pay their staff and then transfer deadline day arrives and it flashes up on the screen that £900m or whatever has been splashed out on players? There would be uproar.”
United fans will no doubt be disappointed if Merson’s claims end up being accurate as Sancho looks absolutely ideal for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s style of play, as well as for the Norwegian’s needs in the attacking midfield department.
Chelsea, meanwhile, also need a big-name attacking signing of this type, with Sancho looking an ideal long-term replacement for Eden Hazard, who left for Real Madrid while the Blues were under a transfer ban last summer.
If Man Utd fans want any reassurance, it seems Red Devils boss Solskjaer is still preparing to strengthen his squad as normal in preparation for when football does return.
He recently told Sky Sports: “Football is going to get back to normality at one point, and it’s very important we’re ready when that happens.
“Then, the market, who knows how the market is going to react to this? Who knows which clubs need to sell players?”