Delay to Sancho signing revealed as Solskjaer turned down request

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jadon Sancho (pic via Manchester United)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reportedly turned down Jadon Sancho’s request to wear the No.7 shirt at Manchester United, which caused the delay in his unveiling at Old Trafford.

The England winger completed his £73m transfer from Borussia Dortmund on Friday, after one of the longest-running transfer sagas of modern times finally came to a close. The transfer was struck during Euro 2020, but the deal was not officially announced until last week.

And now the Daily Mail reports that the delay in confirming his arrival was due to the 21-year-old’s desire to wear the no.7 shirt he had at Dortmund – which is currently occupied by Edinson Cavani.

The report states that Solskjaer would not grant his request, leaving Sancho to take 25 instead, on the basis that 2+5=7.

All seems a little petty in the grand scheme of things. However, one thing for sure is that Solskjaer knows he has a top talent on his hands.

Speaking after United’s 4-2 friendly defeat to QPR last weekend, he said of the transfer: “It’s a big statement.

July 26 Transfer Chatter - Koulibaly a wanted man, Dortmund beat Liverpool to forward and Lacazette out?

July 26 Transfer Chatter - Koulibaly a wanted man, Dortmund beat Liverpool to forward and Lacazette out?

Kalidou Koulibaly is the subject of interest from three clubs, Borussia Dortmund beat Liverpool to Dutch for forward and Alexandre Lacazette is available, all in today's transfer chatter.

“We’ve followed him for a long, long time. He’s a forward with creativity, flair and individual skills. He’s got years ahead of him.

“It shows the fans we mean business. We’ve got one of the best forwards in England for the next 10, 12 years.

“We’ve got Marcus [Rashford] who’s 23 and Mason [Greenwood] who’s a young lad so we’ve got an English core there. The forward line is looking really good.”


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Juve decision set to spark Ronald scramble

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo is set to stay at Juventus this season, but his future beyond that is unclear.

Last week, Gazzette dello Sport claimed Ronaldo had decided to stay at Juventus for the 2021-22 campaign.

The Portugal international was believed to be frustrated at the end of the season. Former Juve boss Andrea Pirlo benched him because of “fatigue” for their final game of the season.

Paulo Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo, Federico Chiesa, Juventus

Ronaldo was left out of the Old Lady’s side that secured their place in the Champions League with a 4-1 win over Bologna.

“It was a shared decision, Ronaldo was tired after Wednesday’s game, so I decided to start [Alvaro] Morata, another great player,” Pirlo said.

Ronaldo was available, I have a deep squad, and I can pick many different players.”

The 36-year-old then posted on Instagram to say he had accomplished everything he had wished to achieve since arriving in Italy.

Those comments led to speculation over his future, despite the superstar having another 12 months on his deal in Turin.

Now though Sky Italy’s Paolo Aghemo claims Juventus won’t offer Ronaldo a new deal next summer.

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