Jadon Sancho may not leave Borussia Dortmund if season extended into July, says Kieran Maguire

Jadon Sancho might be reluctant to seal a move to the Premier League this summer if the football season is extended into July, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

Sky Sports News has been told that when the Bundesliga season resumes and when the transfer window re-opens, Sancho will leave Borussia Dortmund but there are no favourites when it comes to his next destination.

But the prolonged impromptu break caused by the coronavirus pandemic means that there is a high chance of the football calendar rolling over into the summer months.

While Maguire says that scenario is unlikely to affect pre-agreed moves such as Hakim Ziyech’s transfer from Ajax to Chelsea, he believes a season extension is likely to have an impact on transfers for sought-after stars such as Sancho.

• Clubs stand firm on Sancho, Havertz prices
• Q&A: How does coronavirus impact transfers?
• PL meeting: Players to take pay cuts?

“In terms of a player who’s who has already been signed, I don’t think there’s too much of an issue,” he told Sky Sports News. “If however, seasons are going to be extended, then I think there could be complications.

“You will have players who will be out of contract in theory on June 30 in the in most of the senior leagues in Europe. Now it could be that that player was looking forward to a Bosman ruling transfer.

“Or you could have a player such as Jadon Sancho, who has played extremely well this season and has been touted around as being in the firing line for some of the big guns in the Premier League. If he’s actually thinking about moving this summer, he might be slightly reluctant if the German season is extended.

“The Bundesliga goes on to July in August because he might be looking at a big-money move to the likes of Manchester United or Chelsea, or some of the other clubs which have been linked with him, and he would have been expecting that to take place in July or August.

“Therefore, from his point of view, he would be concerned because as all footballers know, you’re one tackle away from a cruciate injury, you’re one tackle away from a broken leg, and therefore I think it will be at the back of players’ minds.”

The Premier League and English Football League (EFL) earmarked April 30 as a potential restart date but chiefs agreed the season cannot resume until it is “safe and appropriate to do so”.

Maguire says that the further down the football ladder, the more problems clubs will face to keep hold of their most prized assets in the summer, especially with the length of contracts ticking down without any football effectively being played.

“If we take a look at those players whose contracts do expire on June 30, what is going to happen then?” he said.

“Especially if we take a look at clubs in the lower leagues, where most players are on one and two-year contracts, they will be concerned about their long term future extending a contract by six or eight weeks.

“And the potential danger of a career-ending injury or an injury, which puts them out of the public eye or of scouts and potential managers for six months, that’s going to be a concern for them as well.

“I think we are very much in uncharted waters. And there could be a lot of legal ramifications if the seasons goes beyond June 30 which of course, there has to be a very high probability.”

‘Clubs could sign Bellingham for cut-price fee’

Jude Bellingham is another player who attracted widespread interest from top clubs in England and abroad, with Manchester United inviting him on a visit of the club’s Carrington training facilities in a bid to sign the 16-year-old.

Considering the economic gap with Birmingham City, Maguire thinks there is every reason to believe the Old Trafford club will be able to sign Bellingham for a fee even inferior to the £30m they offered for the midfielder in January.

“There was a report published in Switzerland last week by one of the analyst organisations [CIES] and they felt the value of the transfer market had fallen by around about 28 per cent,” he said. “I think that will not be problematic for clubs who are in a relatively strong position, but as we drop down the leagues Birmingham have had financial issues.

“Historically, we’re aware of their Financial Fair Play penalty last season and the fact that they have been effectively put into a period of being monitored by the EFL, then that they will be between the devil and the deep blue sea.

“They will need money to survive. They do have owners who are based in Asia but we don’t know how their businesses are coping at present.

“So therefore there would be an opportunity potentially for an acquiring club to acquire a player of the nature of Jude Bellingham at a discounted price.”

Maguire believes that this summer, more than ever, top clubs will have the upper hand in signing players from cash-strapped clubs for cut-price fees.

“Player transfers is one area where the clubs are looking to spend large sums,” he said. “Clubs will very quickly become aware as to which clubs are in the most degrees of financial distress.

“And if you’re in a financial distress situation, you end up having to accept fire-sale prices for some of your biggest assets because what you’re trying to do ultimately is to survive.

“So those clubs who are in a stronger financial position, they will be able to – I wouldn’t say act like vultures – but certainly pick up bargains from the transfer market by identifying those clubs who do have financial problems.”

(c) Sky Sports 2020: Jadon Sancho may not leave Borussia Dortmund if season extended into July, says Kieran Maguire