Manchester United's pursuit of Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho looks to be drawing to a close, with the Red Devils said to have finally found an agreement over an initial fee for the Englishman.
Dortmund have accepted that Sancho could be sold this summer, but they have always been adamant that there would be no discounted fee and any interested side would have to pay €120m (£109m) to get a deal over the line.
Up to this point, United have hesitated to meet that figure, instead pushing for a reduced fee as a result of the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak, and The Independent state that Dortmund have now indicated a willingness to compromise and get this lengthy saga over and done with.
Dortmund are said to have decided that they would accept a deal with an up-front fee of £60m, as long as there are substantial bonuses which will take final fee to over the £100m mark.
While that is obviously a step in the right direction, there is still said to be real distance between Dortmund and United in terms of the payment schedule and the value of any specific add-ons, with United still keen to avoid spending too much.
90min understands that United are eager to avoid breaking the £100m barrier and would prefer to keep any deal under the £89m they spent to sign Paul Pogba in 2016. Bild recently revealed that United's £89m proposal for Sancho has already been knocked back.
Talks are still being held between intermediaries and there are yet to be any formal negotiations between the two sides, in the hope that a basic agreement can be reached before either club needs to get involved.
There has always been a confidence from both sides that a deal will eventually be agreed. For Dortmund, their desire to reach a compromise stems from their wish to finalise their plans for next season.
They have already started planning for the 2020/21 season and Sancho does not feature in those plans, so Dortmund want the squad all sorted out by the time players return to training on 10 August.
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Source : 90min