Manchester United make progress in pursuit of Dortmund's Jadon Sancho

Manchester United have been handed encouragement in their attempts to sign Jadon Sancho in this transfer window as negotiations with Borussia Dortmund over a fee for the England forward continue.

As reported in the Guardian at the start of August, Sancho has agreed personal terms with United and is keen on a move to Old Trafford, with the 20-year-old expected to earn around £250,000 a week. Potential agent fees have now also been agreed but a major stumbling block remains the structure of the deal, with Dortmund still insisting they want €120m (£108m).

United have so far proved reluctant to meet those demands and are understood to have offered last month to pay an initial £90m – a fee that would set a transfer record for an English player – plus a further £18m potentially due in performance-related add-ons. That would involve paying the fee in instalments over the next two or three seasons for the England forward, who has been identified as Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s key target.

It is understood Dortmund are determined to stick to their valuation having seen Chelsea pay a fee that could rise to £70m for Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz, although United believe their price tag is unrealistic given the global economic impact of Covid-19. Talks have continued behind the scenes over the past few weeks, with Sancho having made clear his desire to return to England having spent three years in Germany. However, it is understood he has no intention of going on strike in order to force through a move and is prepared to stay at Dortmund if no solution can be found.

The forward left Manchester City at the age of 17 for the Bundesliga in 2017 in an effort to secure first-team football. He scored 17 league goals and provided 16 assists last season and is expected to compete with Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and the emerging teenager Mason Greenwood for a place in attack.

Solskjær has signed Donny van de Beek from Ajax this summer for £40m, with United also monitoring the left-back Sergio Reguilón of Real Madrid. The Spanish champions value the 23-year-old, who impressed against United in the Europa League semi-final while on loan at Sevilla, at €30m.