Exclusive: Man Utd and Chelsea lead Liverpool in race to sign prolific 21-year-old

Sources close to Anfield Central claim that Manchester United are in the driving seat to sign Jadon Sancho while Chelsea must make a decision soon regarding investing in the Englishman.

Outside of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, there isn't a forward that Liverpool Football Club would rather sign this summer.

That might not come as a surprise to anyone given they are arguably the most promising young attackers in the world and are expected to be the best in their positions in the world in the next few couple of years.

Yet, despite the obvious potential that Sancho has, Liverpool are stalling on making a move to sign him as they reel from the financial consequences of a global pandemic that has seen fans absent from stadiums for over a year.

The final two weeks of the season might have seen a limited number of supporters return to stadiums but the fact remains that Liverpool aren't willing to commit themselves to spending nearly £100million on Sancho.

That said, the Merseysiders aren't broke as some suggest and as much as they like to use a portrayal of having fewer funds to broker more favourable deals, they can afford to sign Sancho without selling key players although it remains to be seen whether they will take the plunge.

It would mark a considerable departure from their history in the transfer market which has only seen them part with massive fees after major sales such as signing Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker following Philippe Coutinho's sale to Barcelona.

One source close to Anfield Central suggests that signing the 21-year-old could cost as much as £90million as Borussia Dortmund look to hold out for as close to the £100m mark as possible.

They held steadfast last summer when they ordered Manchester United to pay £110m or walk away from the deal and while the Old Trafford side failed to take them seriously, they understand they cannot play games this summer with Chelsea and Liverpool sniffing around.

That said, it remains to be seen how long Dortmund will hold their resolve as they face the risk of allowing Sancho to enter into the final two years of his contract and potentially lose out on massive funds by doing so.

We understand that United are close to agreeing personal terms with Sancho but need to agree on a fee with Dortmund.

Chelsea, our sources claim, are stalling as they decide whether or not to invest in the forward following last summer which saw them sanction £222.48m on incomings.

While they will receive considerable remuneration for their Champions League triumph over Manchester City, they aren't sure if they can justify spending nearly £100m in an area of the pitch that they aren't short of quality.

United are the undeniable favourites to sign Sancho and showing some initiative would see them seal a deal to sign the forward but Chelsea and Liverpool can throw a spanner in the works if they decide to take the leap and sanction what would be a record purchase for both clubs.