Kingsley Coman & Douglas Costa on Man Utd Radar Should Jadon Sancho Pursuit Fail
By Adam Aladay
Manchester United are said to have added Bayern Munich's Kingsley Coman and Juventus' Douglas Costa to their list of back-up targets, should they fail in their efforts to land Jadon Sancho this summer.
Borussia Dortmund set a 10 August deadline for a deal to be completed for Sancho, citing their need to begin preparations for their 2020/21 season. The Bundesliga giants have stood firm on their valuation, and are asking United for around £108m - a figure that the Red Devils, despite BVB's stance, will not be bullied into paying immediately.
With no agreement reached - and the deadline now passed - Dortmund's sporting director Michael Zorc claimed that Sancho would be staying for the next campaign. Despite this, 90min has learned that the Red Devils are paying little attention to his remarks and are continuing to push ahead to strike a deal.
United have always viewed the 10 August deadline as artificial, considering how long is left of the transfer window. Personal terms for Sancho aren't expected to be an issue as the forward is keen to join, but the Premier League outfit are struggling to agree an upfront fee with Dortmund - as well as the amount of performance-related add-ons.
Of course, such high-profile transfers take time, while there is always the risk that United will simply fail to give into Dortmund's demands. As a result, the club have been drawing up a list of back-up targets for some time, and the Daily Mail say that Ed Woodward is 'exploring' the possibility of signing either Bayern's Coman or Juventus' Costa if they fail to land Sancho.
Interest in Coman isn't new as it has already been noted that United have held talks with the Frenchman regarding a move. The winger himself is interested in the idea of making the switch to link up with Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba.
As for Costa, links to Man Utd aren't new for him either as he has attracted attention from the Red Devils a number of times over the years. New Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo is keen to offload a number of players this summer in order to build a squad capable of challenging for the Champions League, but Costa isn't among those who have been told they can leave.
Despite the fact United have missed the supposed deadline to strike a deal with Dortmund, not much is expected to have changed. The Red Devils will continue to push to sign Sancho, but should it prove too challenging to find an agreement, they could well turn to either Coman or Costa. However, the pair are among a number of back-up targets the club have identified.