The Signing of Jadon Sancho. More Glazernomics Or A Business Masterclass?

FINALLY! Jadon Sancho has signed for Man United.

In a saga that has felt like a lifetime long is finally coming to a successful end as Jadon Sancho is set to sign for Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund.

‘The Red Devils’ have been chasing their man for around 2-3 years now and the announcement that a deal in principle has been reached is more a relief and weight off our shoulders more than cause for celebration.

The Sancho transfer comes in the middle of the #GlazersOut movement which aims to remove The Glazer family, that have run United for 18 years, from the helm of the club.

This movement was fuelled further when the United owners, along with the 5 other owners of the Premier League so called “Big Six”, agreed to join a European Super League that in its simplest form would have destroy football as we know it.

Thankfully, we can look back in hindsight and say that the proposal was unsuccessful and football fans will remain at the centre of the beautiful game however that 48-hour period of football uncertainty may act as a blessing in disguise for Man United.

With the spotlight blinding The Glazers like never before, they have backed themselves into a corner this summer which is forcing their hands into their deep pockets, hence why Raphael Varane is already been hotly considered as a signing after Jadon Sancho is official and holding up the shirt.

Now I’m sure there is not a single Man United fan that believes The Glazers are good for this club however with criticism comes praise and you have to acknowledge when the owners and the board have played the business game well.

So with that in mind, was the Jadon Sancho deal classic Glazernomics or was it a stroke of genius from our owners.

PRICE

With every transfer, the finances are as important as the deal itself.

There are many rumours flying around about the official fee United will pay Dortmund for the 21-year-old winger but the deal seems to be around the £73m with no add ons.

In addition, that fee will be paid in five equal instalments of £14.5m.

The instalments and structure of the deal is why this deal took so long but it looks like Man United got their way in the end.

When this deal first grew legs last summer, Dortmund’s valuation of Sancho was £108m with The Glazers going nowhere near that fee.

Rumours suggest that while Man United final offer of £77m was “nowhere near enough”, the talks between the clubs would remain open.

United spent all last summer pushing Dortmund with no end result which caused the club to go back in for Sancho this summer.

With personal terms already agreed in 2020, the structure and price of the deal was the only roadblock standing in the way of Sancho in United red.

A year on, Man United have a £73m transfer offer accepted by Dortmund for Jadon Sancho which is a massive £35m away from last summer’s asking price.

Like it or not, you have to take your hats off to The Glazers and the Man United board for that smart bit of business which ended up with them saving a large amount of money they can use on signings elsewhere in the squad.

LENGTH

Now for the dark side of this deal, the length of time it took.

We all know why United delayed the transfer for a year and in hindsight it looks like it might have been worth it but the longevity of the saga didn’t just annoy United fans but also had an effect on the team.

Would Man United have caught Manchester City in the Premier League title race if Jadon Sancho was signed last summer? No. Would Man United have pushed Manchester City further if Jadon Sancho was signed last summer? Yes.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you lose out on the title by a single goal difference or 25 points, you will still finish second however if you pushed City right up until the end, which Sancho would of helped us achieve, then that sends a statement of intent out to the rest of the league that Man United are a threat again.

In terms of the Europa League, would Jadon Sancho have turned that final loss into a win? That is hard to judge but you would have stood a far better chance had he actually been in the game.

That doesn’t even touch on the fact that Jadon Sancho might have helped United climb out of their Champions League group rather than fall back down into the Europa League.

It would be stupid to say that Man United would have be levels above their current self with Jadon Sancho at the club but the Englishman gives Ole a different option which may have helped us score more goals and pick up more points throughout the season.

OTHER TRANSFERS

Finally, it would be wise to look at how the Jadon Sancho deal affects other transfers.

Firstly, let’s take it back to last summer. Say Jadon Sancho did sign for £108m then that would have taken the spending up to £183m which would have been the majority of that magic £200m figure that keeps floating around.

If we are going into depth, then the figure would be more around £160m if we exclude the so called “Sancho alternatives” in Facundo Pellistri (£7.5m) and Amad Diallo (£20m).

This summer, Jadon Sancho will be the first money move for the club which may keep fees for other players.

Raphael Varane is the next top target for United and a price tag of £43m has been set for the multiple Champions League winner.

If United signed Varane for £43m then the spend would go to £116m which is around £40m more than last season’s £75m.

Despite rumours around a right back and a midfielder, no other concrete sources have suggested any more signings as of yet.

The net spend is a better indication of the summer finances and with Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial and David De Gea all possible moves away, that may pave the way for further transfers in at the club.

In conclusion, The Glazers have played the Jadon Sancho transfer saga well and held out for a lower fee. The Glazers Out movement will still roar on and rightfully so but credit where credit is due, despite the time it took, it looks like that board have actually completed some good transfer business for once.