Borussia Dortmund have acknowledged that securing a permanent deal for Manchester United's Jadon Sancho after his loan period ends will be a 'very, very difficult' task.
The 23-year-old, who had a four-year stint at Dortmund after joining from Manchester City in 2017, re-joined the Bundesliga outfit last month on a loan agreement that extends until the end of the season.
Sancho's return to BVB came after a public falling out with Red Devils' boss Erik ten Hag back in September last year.
Since arriving at Signal Iduna Park last month, Sancho has contributed two assists in three Bundesliga games and has played a key role in Edin Terzic's team securing three consecutive league victories.
Despite making a bright start in his second spell at the club, Dortmund's sporting director Sebastian Kehl has admitted that the chances of signing Sancho on a permanent deal are slim, even if Manchester United decides to offload the winger in the summer.
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In an interview with Sky Sports Germany, Kehl admitted: "Unfortunately for both players [Ian Maatsen and Jadon Sancho], neither option was really realistic. If you know what we got for Jadon Sancho two and a half years ago, then you know also that it might now be very, very difficult.
"We naturally advocated for an option with him - and also with Ian - but the negotiating position was not such that we could implement it and so we will accept it for now."
In the case of Maatsen, Kehl expressed a somewhat more optimistic tone with his words but remained cautious about the prospects of a permanent deal for the Dutchman.
"It's good that we have the boy [Maatsen] here now. We can observe him intensively and get to know him on the pitch and outside and of course we will then deal intensively with the situation," said the Dortmund chief.
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United will be hoping that Sancho can continue to perform well until the end of the season, which will allow them to demand a higher asking price if they do decide to part ways with the winger once and for all in the summer.
The England international arrived at Old Trafford in July 2021 for a fee in the region of £73m and signed a five-year contract with an option of a further year.
During his time at United, Sancho scored 12 goals and provided six assists in 82 appearances for the club.
Before his move to United, the 23-year-old recorded an impressive tally of 50 goals and 64 assists in just 137 games for Dortmund.
Sancho's return to the Bundesliga has helped lift BVB back into a Champions League qualification spot after a challenging first half of the season.
Devesh Jaganath
