Although Saturday’s Champions League final at Wembley might not feature any English participation, for Manchester United it will be a game seen with great interest.
possible extension to his United deal in order to preserve his market value – with the forward having just one-year to run on his current contract, and any sale of his representing pure profit due from him being an academy graduate. Greenwood’s next move most likely to be a loan; Dortmund is under discussion as a possible location.
Dortmund will have the means for this; the transfer cost won’t be their obstacle. Long term, it will be the effect on payroll that adding someone like Sancho, said to be on roughly £300,000 per week, significantly greater than any present Dortmund player would have.
It draws attention to a problem resulting from the Premier League’s own wealth generating: wages have increased thanks to the explosive media rights deals, but where the lack of riches at such a level elsewhere in Europe means that selling to other major European leagues is now harder than it ever has been because the cost of acquisition is just too high for even some of the continent’s heaviest hitters.
Dortmund, a team whose a clear plan has enabled sustained success despite regularly having to sell on their greatest assets, may object to the thought of spending their Champions League riches on a player they had said farewell to at a significant profit earlier.
