Gossip: Man Utd fail in £45m hijack as Sancho panic continues

FIRST THING’S FIRST

Your Jadon Sancho-specific update for Thursday morning is that he ‘believes he WILL be a Manchester United player’ by the end of the current transfer window. The Sun say Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ‘is growing increasingly confident’ of a deal, Dortmund ‘are resigned to losing the player’ and Sancho has asked his representatives “to do all they can to make it happen”. Yawn.

CALL THE FED

Now that bit of admin is out of the way, let’s get down to far more interesting matters. Most outlets provide pretty much the same line on Manchester United diverting their attention to Ousmane Demebele or Luka Jovic as more acquirable alternatives. But the Daily Telegraph have an intriguing claim of their own.

They report that Fiorentina have rejected a loan bid for Italy international Federico Chiesa. La Viola ‘were not willing’ to listen and instead will only consider offers over a permanent deal, such as the reported £45m approach Juventus are contemplating.

It is added that fellow potential target Ismaila Sarr is another player not available on loan, with Watford only likely to be tempted by a sizeable cash bid.

VIN SUCKING DIESEL

Manchester United have previously been linked with Benfica forward Carlos Vinicius but he is bound for Tottenham in a deal that will delight Harry Kane’s poor ligaments.

The Daily Mail report on an initial loan deal with an option to buy for £36m. Vinicius would provide ‘quality cover’ up front but also versatility as he can play on the left.

It would also end interest in Arkadiusz Milik, who now seems likely to have to stick it out at Napoli because of doubt over his dodgy knees.

SPECIAL BREW

Liverpool will make no further signings but do not bet against them offloading a couple of players. Chief among them will be Rhian Brewster, the subject of panicked interest from Sheffield United in particular.

The Sun bring us news of ‘a stunning £23m bid’ from the Blades for the ‘Liverpool babe’, which is incredibly weird and don’t ever do that again.

The offer includes a guaranteed £18m with an extra £5m in possible add-ons, likely beating Crystal Palace who apparently did not agree to Liverpool’s insistence on a buy-back clause.

By all accounts the 20-year-old is ‘keen’ to head to Bramall Lane if his Anfield pathway is blocked. He has a low bar to clear: the Blades have lost their first three games without scoring.