Borussia Dortmund have denied holding any transfer talks with Manchester United over Jadon Sancho, casting further doubt on a move back to England for the star winger.
The Bundesliga side also claimed that they are preparing for the 2020-21 season under the assumption that Sancho will be a part of their squad.
Sancho left Manchester City in 2017 to join up with Dortmund and has since established himself as one of Europe’s top attackers.
United would likely have to part with a massive transfer fee to secure the 20-year-old England international, with Goal reporting that the German side want €120 million (£108m/$142m) for Sancho.
Such a figure would likely be far too high for United, who are prepared to move on to other targets, including Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman.
Dortmund, though, have insisted that no talks have even taken place between themselves and United, which would make it even less likely that Sancho would be able to move before the season starts.
“So far, there has been no contact between Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United in terms of Sancho, either indirectly or through alleged intermediaries,” Dortmund managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke told SZ.
Dortmund are set to begin pre-season training on Monday, which is the deadline they have set to complete any move. With that date now just five days away, time is running out for any transfer to be done.
“I assume that Jadon will go to training camp on Monday and play with us for the coming season,” Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc added.
Though he reiterated that no offer for Sancho has arrived from United, Watzke insisted that any club potentially interested in his star man knows they would have to meet his side’s asking price.
“There has never been an offer for Jadon, but we have pre-emptively given the minimum of what should be paid,” Watzke added. “I don’t expect any difficulties. Jadon has accepted that, he’s a very pleasant, fair guy.”
Sancho, who tallied 17 goals and 17 assists in the 2019-20 Bundesliga campaign as Dortmund finished in second place, has two years remaining on his contract.