Melissa Reddy reveals what it will take to sign £78million star with 30 goals/assists

Liverpool are interested in signing Jadon Sancho but cannot afford him due to the financial constraints placed on them by the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Melissa Reddy.

Speaking to Sport1, she said: "Liverpool had been interested in Jadon Sancho for a long time - they were very excited when he was with Manchester City and wanted to leave, but the club knew that a sale to a rival would never have been approved.

"The England international's move to Borussia Dortmund only hardened their interest in him because of the way he played, the physical demands of the league and the offensive responsibility he took on at a young age.

"Before the global pandemic, Liverpool acted cautiously in the transfer market to create reserves should a generation talent or a real difference player be available at the right time for the right price.

"Sancho's excellent performances at BVB have exploded its value to a point that was unrealistic for Liverpool. Now with an exit clause, it is an unlikely deal because of the financial situation as a result of Covid.

"Liverpool do not play expensive poker games, either like City, Manchester United or Chelsea, who can afford it. The transfers last summer were all on flexible terms. The Wolves, for example, only accepted around ten per cent of the guaranteed transfer fee for Jota for the first year of his transfer.

"One way to fund the refresh of the squad would be to sell a top striker (as in the case of Coutinho, who was sold for Van Dijk and Alisson transfers), but it's not a buyer's market. Real Madrid and Barcelona, usually targets of such top talent are deep in debt. Liverpool have more pressing priorities to improve their squad, such as defensive, so it would be difficult to picture Sancho at Anfield, especially when it comes to betting."

There's a lot to unpack here but the main takeaway is that despite buying low and selling high to preserve funds to sign a generational talent like Mbappe or Sancho, those reserves have been obliterated by the pandemic which has seen the club post a £46million loss for the financial year ending on May 31, 2020.

Sancho is a fantastic player and his current valuation of £78m could be seen as a bargain if he achieves the levels of the attackers Liverpool currently own but there are no guarantees in football.

It's still unclear how much the club has lost since the end of May 2020 but it's safe to assume the financial impacts that the pandemic has had aren't even fully clear yet and desperate attempts from the biggest clubs in the world to force through a European Super League highlight how much financial jeopardy the likes of Liverpool are in.

This makes signing a player like Sancho virtually impossible. It's my opinion that we're unlikely to see any true marquee signings this summer and I'll be shocked if we see any transfers made worth over £60million unless the buying club doesn't make any other moves in the market.

I always thought that football would see a massive recession in terms of the fees that clubs could afford ever since Neymar's £222million move to PSG sparked a series of high profile transfers but I could never have predicted a deadly virus scouring the planet would be the cause.

Liverpool are set to sign Ibrahima Konate this summer for €40million or thereabouts and there will likely be a couple more incoming but it won't be surprising if Jurgen Klopp considers downsizing his squad in the face of the pandemic to generate lost funds.

Georginio Wijnaldum is leaving the club this summer as his contract comes to an end in late June but the Dutchman will leave without a fee being recouped. Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri will also leave but neither is expected to generate a huge fee.

The only way that Liverpool will be able to sign a player like Sancho is by selling one of Mane, Firmino and Salah. The Englishman has 30 goals/assists this season and would be a sensational signing.

The former has been poor this season and so his value will have dropped, Firmino is a shadow of the geggenpressing monster he was a year and a half ago and there isn't a club in the world right now that can afford Mo.

Salah has carried the Liverpool attack this season, with 33 goal contributions in all comps.

The Egyptian has given more interviews in the last few months than he has ever done before and this leads me to believe he wants a new contract but as he said this week, he hasn't received word from anyone at the club over his future.

This summer is shaping up to be an interesting one from a Liverpool fan's perspective but it seems doubtful that the club will splash the cash to sign a top player.