Why Manchester United Decided Not to Move for Chelsea-Bound Timo Werner
Chelsea took a huge step towards signing Timo Werner this week, reaching an agreement with the RB Leipzig star and preparing to meet his £54m release clause.
Werner has been primarily linked with Liverpool over the last few months, even publicly praising the Merseysiders, while Manchester United have also been keeping an eye on the situation.
Liverpool’s unwillingness to pay the full release clause this summer paved the way for Chelsea to steal in, while it appears that United remain more committed to different priorities.
The Evening Standard report that despite significant interest in Werner, United see the extension of Odion Ighalo’s loan from Shanghai Shenhua until January 2021 as a way of allowing them to target different, more pressing positions instead.
United missed out on Erling Haaland in January, which prompted the short-term deal for Ighalo, and have also been linked with Lyon’s Moussa Dembélé. But the need for bringing in a new striker can be pushed to the backburner, while manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is also said to see it as an opportunity over the next six months for Mason Greenwood to further establish himself.
United’s transfer priorities in 2020 continue to lie elsewhere.
90min has regularly reported over a number of months, stretching back to last September, that United are confident of signing Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho this year.
Despite the obvious difficulties brought to the transfer market and football in general by the ongoing coronavirus crisis, that confidence has never really waned.
United will offer Sancho a greater financial package – potentially worth £250,000 per week – than Dortmund’s willingness to double his current contract to £200,000 per week. The iconic number seven shirt is also ready and waiting for him at Old Trafford.
90min revealed only last weekend that Sancho wants to return to England and favours United as things stand. The club has obviously struggled in recent years but the latest signs are positive that long-standing problems are being fixed and the club believe they can convince Sancho of the long-term project he is thought to be seeking. No Champions League in 2020/21 might not be a killer.
Raphael Honigstein of The Athletic said in April: “Manchester United can’t promise titles to Sancho straight away. But they can promise him to be the leading star in a new team that is emerging. From what I’ve been told that is quite appealing to him.”
90min understands United are keen to get this deal done in 2020 when the market is less competitive, as waiting another year could open the door for rival clubs to recover and make bids of their own.
Despite a stand-off between United and Dortmund over price for the time being, a source close to the situation has explained to 90min that ‘the expectation from both sides is that this deal will get done, at some point this summer'.
Elsewhere, 90min has been informed by a source that the club also believes a deal for Birmingham prodigy Jude Bellingham has already been effectively sealed. He is seen as an all-round midfielder capable of playing in a two or three-man midfield, possessing similar qualities to the likes of Roy Keane or Paul Ince, as well as carrying a goal threat.
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