Sport
the times | Saturday July 18 2020 2GS 11
Borussia Dortmund have told
Manchester United that they will not
sell Jadon Sancho for less than
£100 million this summer.
Sancho, who has two years left on his
£190,000-per-week deal, is United’s top
target but there has been little sign that
a deal will be concluded as the German
club have proved obdurate negotiators.
United have distanced themselves
from reports that they are unwilling to
pay above £50 million for Sancho, 20,
but it is understood that they are
looking to reach a compromise,
involving add-ons, of somewhere in
between the two figures.
Dortmund, however, insist they will
only accept bids of over £100 million, in
one lump sum, and have privately re-
buffed the idea that United could pay in
instalments.
It is understood that United areSancho to cost over £100m
waiting to decide on their next move
until later this summer, when they will
have a clearer picture of their finances.
By then, United will know if they have
qualified for the Champions League —
which is far more lucrative than the
Europa League — while also being in a
position to assess the financial damage
caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the United
manager, wants Sancho to fill the right-
wing position, which has caused issues
since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
Daniel James, a left winger, started
the season on the right. The position is
presently held by Mason Greenwood,
who has enjoyed an outstanding break-
through season, but is only 18.
Jude Bellingham, the 17-year-old Bir-
mingham City midfielder, is expected
to complete his transfer to Dortmund
next week after passing a medical. Bir-
mingham are expected to receive a fee
that could rise up to £30 million for the
teenager, who was coveted by United.Paul HirstLampard: VAR
kind to United
Frank Lampard believes Manchester
United have benefited from a number
of contentious VAR decisions recently
and warned his Chelsea players of the
risk of conceding a penalty to “clever”
Bruno Fernandes during tomorrow’s
FA Cup semi-final at Wembley (Ian
Winrow writes).
Lampard’s side have lost three times
against United this season, most
recently when they were beaten 2-0 at
Stamford Bridge in a game marked by
three interventions by VAR that all
went in favour of Ole Gunnar Sols-
kjaer’s side. So far, VAR has overturned
seven goals scored against United, a
joint league high.
“It just seems to be a period where
United have got a few in their favour,”
the Chelsea manager, 42, said. On
Fernandes, he said: “If a player dangles
a leg then you do leave yourself open to
penalties, VAR or no VAR.”scored a hat-trick when United
knocked the holders, Chelsea, out of
the FA Youth Cup. Solskjaer watched
the footage and called Greenwood up
from the under-23 side.
Less than two years later,
Greenwood has become an
established first-team player and is
now on the radar of Gareth
Southgate, who is considering calling
him up for England’s Nations League
matches against Iceland and
Denmark in September.
When Greenwood signed his four-
year contract last October, his dad
asked United to shield his son from
the limelight, and they have. BT
Sport, Sky, and the BBC — among
others — have had interview requests
knocked back.
Greenwood looks like a man now
— he bulked up during the lockdown
— but he is still only 18 and the club
understandably want to protect the
striker, who is a shy character. Jesse
Lingard and Marcus Rashford have
taken Greenwood under their wing.
The former often makes sure that the
teenager is aware what time team
meetings are. McKenna is playing a
key role in nurturing Greenwood’s
talent. He often takes him for one-to-
one sessions.
Greenwood loses his shyness in
group sessions and in matches to the
extent that he will not hesitate to call
out an older, more established player
if he receives a poor pass from them.
One of the reasons that Solskjaer
likes Greenwood so much is that he is
a good listener. Some young players
are easily distracted when talking to
the coaching staff but Greenwood is
not one of them.
Greenwood had the same attitude
when he used to play under Newsham
12 years ago. “He were no bother at
all,” Newsham said before recalling
one final memory from their time
together. “I always remember that
when we arrived at the ground, the
opposition kids and manager would
come straight up to me and ask, ‘Is
Mason playing today?’ If he was,
they’d groan.”
Chelsea will probably feel the same
if Greenwood’s name is on the
teamsheet tomorrow evening.One day Frank Lampard may decide
to determine the balance of his squad
based on which board games they
play.
Olivier Giroud revealed this week
that he and N’Golo Kanté, his
Chelsea and France team-mate, have
been playing Scrabble, but a team
comprising too many word-game
aficionados may be narrow in its
focus. Ruben Loftus-Cheek does not
play Scrabble with his team-mates but
has turned his hand to Monopoly, a
board game that requires more
staying power and offers some free
parking.
His Monopoly buddies, Nathaniel
Chalobah, Nathan Aké and Ola Aina,
have left Chelsea to join Watford,
Bournemouth and Torino
respectively, leaving the midfielder as
the lone dealer in fantasy hotels and
imitation money. Loftus-Cheek is set
apart in terms of his ability too.
“It’s very individual,” Lampard, his
head coach, said this week. “It’s
different from what the rest of the
squad bring for us, his physicality and
touch on the ball.”
Indeed Loftus-Cheek, 24, often
appears to be functioning in a
different timezone. His style is
graceful and, because he is 6ft 3in,
surprising. Where you may expect
him to use his physicality, he often
instead chooses delicacy. When
Lampard says he expects him to be
“firing straight out the blocks” for next
season what he could really mean is
that the player we see now is still one
adjusting to competitive football after
13 months out with an Achilles injury
and who only made his first start of
the campaign in the 1-0 win over
Norwich City on Tuesday.
Callum Hudson-Odoi also ruptured
his achilles, a month before Loftus-
Cheek suffered the same fate, but the
Chelsea winger, 19, was back in
training four months later.
“I’d like to know that as well,”
Loftus-Cheek laughs when asked why
it took him more than a year to
recuperate. “Callum’s was quickerChelsea’s man apart is ready ‘to
step up’ and become a big noise
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is fit
and keen to show he can
be key figure at the club,
he tells Alyson Rudd
than mine. It was the same injury but
different bodies react in different
ways. Mine was just a longer process.
“I did everything I could to speed
that up. I felt like I got back as quickly
as possible. There were ups and
downs, but I felt like I did the time I
needed to. I didn’t rush it.”
Loftus-Cheek, who was part of
England’s World Cup squad in 2018, is
back in a Chelsea team who will
tomorrow take on Manchester United
at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final
and look well placed to qualify for the
Champions League. Yet they have
been inconsistent this campaign with
Lampard demanding that his players
are more vocal on the pitch. It is not
Loftus-Cheek’s style to make noise
but he says that he will try to be
louder if that is what his head coach
needs from him.
“There’s different characters in
football and different personalities,”
he says. “Some people naturally speak
more than others. Some people are
more vocal. Some people like to lead
by example and don’t talk too much.
“I’ve never been a massive talker on
the pitch. But it’s important to have
different personalities. If the gaffer
says we have to be more vocal then
that’s what we’ll have to do. We’re
going to have to step up. The quieter
ones are going to have to talk more.”
Loftus-Cheek’s previous injury
concerns were about his back
and towards the end of his
Chelsea tenure Maurizio Sarri
declared that he would
always struggle with
back problems, a
statement that might
have riled most
players, but not
Loftus-Cheek.
“I’ve had
problems with
my back since I
was 16,” he says.
“And I will
always have to manage
my back. I have been
injured but I haven’t had
any back problems since
mid-season last season.”
Chelsea defeated
United in the
FA Cup final two years ago
but Loftus-Cheek was notinvolved, as he was on loan at Crystal
Palace.
“I wasn’t jealous of what the
Chelsea team achieved in that year,”
he says. “I was a Palace player. Now
I’m a Chelsea player and I want to
win titles with Chelsea. There’s no
added motivation because the team
won it when I was away. Not at all.”
Playing at an empty Wembley will
be surreal for the players even if they
are by now used to performing
behind closed doors.
“I’d love for there to be fans at
Wembley,” Loftus-Cheek says. “It’s
going to be even more eerie because
it’s such a big stadium. And this far
into a competition, this is when you
want the fans to be involved, and to
feel the energy and adrenaline in the
stadium and in the crowd.
“There’s nothing we can do about it.
We have to try to play the same
football and have the same
motivation to want to win a game.”
It is tempting to assume that
Loftus-Cheek signed a new five-year
deal last July because of the
appointment of Lampard, who was
depicted as a manager likely to give
young players a long run in the team.
However, Loftus-Cheek says there
was never any chance he would look
elsewhere. “I don’t see myself as a
young player any more,” he says.
“Frank coming in didn’t change my
opinion. I was happy at Chelsea and
my plan was to stay here.”
Tomorrow’s semi-final will feature
two managers who were iconic
players for their clubs and this,
says Loftus-Cheek, who joined
the Chelsea academy aged
eight, adds an emotional
layer to their coaching
“When you’ve got a
manager who has
played for the club who
knows how it feels to
be a player at that
club, it’s always an
advantage,” he says.
“The manager will
have empathy with
the players and knows
what it’s like. As Ole
Gunnar Solskjaer and
Frank were at these
clubs for such a long
time they have an
emotional connection
which will motivate
them to do well.”Loftus-Cheek is back
after 13 months outGreenwood’s fast start
Most Premier League goals before 19th birthday
Michael Owen
28
Wayne Rooney
15
Francis Jeffers
12
Alan Smith
10
Robbie Fowler
10
Mason Greenwood
9
Marcus Rashford
8
Chris Bart-Williams
6
James Milner
6Minutes per goal by United strikers
All competitions, 2019-2 099 (minutes)137
Mason Greenwood ( 16 )
138
Anthony Marital ( 22 )
142
Bruno Fernandes ( 8 )
169Odion Ighalo (5 goals)Marcus Rashford ( 22 )Goals Mason
Greenwood has
scored from
outside the box
this season,
more than any United
player. Bruno Fernandes
and Scott McTominay
have scored three each5
to Wembley
hKIRKGATE; TWITTERGreenwood was keen on sport from a young age, with an
interest in basketball, left, and European success, right