Bundesliga
PAY NOW, OR LOSE OUT ON JADON, DORTMUND TELLS MAN UNITED
Manchester United’s move for Jadon Sancho is in danger of collapsing with Borussia Dortmund increasingly bemused by their approach to the negotiations.
According to Daily Mail, Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc bullishly claimed on Monday that Sancho will play for the Bundesliga side this season and the decision was final.
And Dortmund’s belief that they can retain the England star has been strengthened by developments during the process which have left them questioning how much United want to land the 20 year-old winger.
While there was direct contact between the clubs pre-Covid that has now dried up.
And though the Old Trafford giants claimed they were worried about the slow progress of talks Dortmund have yet to receive a bid or even an indication of United’s starting point for the fee negotiations, delaying attempts to find a compromise.
Dortmund have been firm from the outset in their demand for a fee of £108m.
United’s finger pointing at the players’ camp and claims about wage demands raised eyebrows in Germany, given the need to persuade them about a move to Old Trafford, while suggestions they have insisted on the involvement of agent Marco Lichtsteiner in the deal have been rebuffed too.
Meanwhile, United’s contract offers have also caused real surprise and created further doubt about the deal at Dortmund.
Sportsmail understands United’s first contract proposal would have involved Sancho taking a wage cut and their second was similar to the deal he is currently on worth up to £190,000-per-week.
Last week there was optimism that an agreement on terms and a five-year deal was close and that the discussions over the transfer were heading in the right direction.
Talks to sort out the personal terms element of the deal remain ongoing, with Sancho not seeking a deal that would break United’s wage structure, though the fee remains the major sticking point.
United believe Dortmund’s valuation is unrealistic, especially in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, and are refusing to be pushed into doing a deal on another club’s terms.
The onus is now on United to resurrect the situation with Dortmund more than willing to keep Sancho who has no plans to agitate for a move, especially one that is not currently on the table.
Another pressing issue is that this summer represents United’s best hope of a clear run at Sancho due to the competition they would face in 12 months’ time.
Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele, Bayern Munich Kingsley Coman and Juventus’ Douglas Costa are among their alternatives.
But Sancho remains their No 1 target after lighting up the Bundesliga since his £10m move from Manchester City in 2017; and United would be reluctant to walk away from the deal.
Sancho has been involved in 77 goals in just 99 senior games for Dortmund, scoring 34 and setting up 43 more, becoming an England international and establishing himself as one of Europe’s most exciting prospects along the way.
United trained at Viktoria Koln on Wednesday ahead of this weekend’s Europa League semi-final against Sevilla in Cologne, having chosen the German third division club’s facilities ahead of fourth tier Fortuna Koln.
It will be United’s third semi of the season after losing out to Chelsea and Manchester City in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is determined to go one better.
‘Reaching semi-finals is a good effort, decent, but it’s not good enough for Man United,’ said Solskjaer on Wednesday.
‘Let’s make sure the hurt that we felt in the two other cups we went out of can be the marginal difference, in that we want it more than them.
‘It’s like a European Championship or a World Cup: you don’t get a second chance, there is no tomorrow. You just know you have to leave everything on that pitch.’
A masked fan unplugged a VAR monitor during a German second division match on Sunday in an audacious act of sabotage that left the referee looking at a blank screen when he was called to review a potential penalty.
The bizarre incident unfolded during the Bundesliga 2 clash between Preussen Muenster and visiting Hertha Berlin, when referee Felix Bickel was summoned to the pitchside monitor only to discover that someone had yanked out the power plug.
According to Muenster’s website, a masked supporter had infiltrated the interior and unplugged the VAR monitor, sabotaging the review process. German media reported that at the same time, home fans displayed a banner reading “Pull the plug on VAR”.
With Bickel unable to view the replay, VAR official Katrin Rafalski in Cologne was forced to make the decision remotely, ruling that the challenge was indeed a foul, prompting Bickel to award the penalty, which Hertha duly converted.
The Berlin side eventually won the match 2–1 with a stoppage-time goal.
Muenster later said the incident appeared to have been a planned action and that the club would do everything in its power to identify those responsible.
-Reuters
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German football powerhouse Borussia Dortmund has officially launched the BVB International Academy Ghana, marking the club’s first international academy on the African continent.
The academy, which will commence operations in Accra in February 2026, is based at Achimota School and has been established in partnership with Accra Shooting Stars FC. It is designed to provide structured football development for boys and girls aged 6 to 18.
In a statement announcing the project, Dortmund described the initiative as a major milestone for youth football development in Ghana and part of the club’s expanding global academy network.
Young players enrolled at the academy will be trained under Borussia Dortmund’s internationally recognised methodology, which emphasises discipline, leadership, education, nutrition and holistic personal development, while remaining aligned with Ghana’s vibrant football culture.
Benedikt Scholz, Director of Internationalisation and Commercial Partnerships and Managing Director of the BVB Football Academy, said the launch reflects the Bundesliga side’s longstanding relationship with Ghana, forged through former players such as Otto Addo and Ibrahim Tanko.
He described the academy as a “strong statement” of intent and noted that the club’s objective is to build sustainable youth development structures in close cooperation with local partners.
Academy Director Teddy Hiadzi explained that the project is inclusive by design, offering pathways for both recreational and elite players.
“Every child’s football journey is different,” Hiadzi said, adding that the academy’s priority is to provide quality coaching, clear developmental structures and a safe environment for growth on and off the pitch.
Former Dortmund midfielder and Black Stars legend Ibrahim Tanko has been appointed ambassador of the BVB International Academy Ghana. He described the academy as a special opportunity for young Ghanaian talents, noting that the country’s passion for football makes it an ideal environment to instil the mindset and discipline required to succeed at the highest level.
The BVB International Academy Ghana will operate as an official member of Dortmund’s global International Academy network, which already includes academies across Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean. Enrolment for the first intake is underway, with information sessions and football camps scheduled in collaboration with local schools.
The launch further strengthens Dortmund’s footprint in Africa and underscores Ghana’s growing reputation as a hub for structured youth football development on the continent.
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Bayer Leverkusen kept pace with Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich by beating Hoffenheim 3-1 on Sunday with goals from Victor Boniface, Patrik Schick and Jeremie Frimpong.
Leverkusen finished with 10 players after Álex Grimaldo’s sending off with half an hour to play. New signings Emiliano Buendía and Mario Hermoso made their debuts as Xabi Alonso’s team stayed six points behind Bayern two weeks before the top two clash in Leverkusen.
Bayern defeated Holstein Kiel on Saturday.
Boniface scored with his first shot at goal since his proposed move to Saudi team Al-Nassr collapsed. The Nigeria forward started for his first game since early November after recovering from a thigh injury, and he scored in the 15th minute with a shot that Hoffenheim ’keeper Luca Philipp should arguably have stopped.
Frimpong made it 2-0 four minutes later after Aleix García sent the Dutch wing back through.
Then Robin Braun became the first referee to announce a VAR call to fans in a Bundesliga game when a penalty he awarded to Nathan Tella for a foul by Hoffenheim defender David Jurasek was taken back — video replays showed the Leverkusen attacker was coming from an offside position before he was fouled.
Leverkusen’s match was among five in the 20th round trialling the NFL-style announcements, a change league officials hope will make the much-maligned VAR system more popular among fans.
Buendía went on for the injured Tella to make his Bundesliga debut before the break, and Schick went on for Boniface after it.
Buendía surged through the Hoffenheim defence only to see his shot saved by Philipp, but Schick was there to tuck away the rebound for 3-0 in the 51st. It was the Czech forward’s 14th league goal of the season.
Then Grimaldo was shown red in the 61st when Hoffenheim substitute Gift Orban went on for the visitors. Orban pulled a goal back a minute later.
Buendía made way for Hermoso to compensate for Grimaldo’s sending off. Though tempers flared at times, Leverkusen’s 10 men contained the visitors for the rest of the game.
Third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt drew with Wolfsburg 1-1 in the early game.
-AFP
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