Manchester United have reportedly been set an August 10 deadline by Borussia Dortmund to land Jadon Sancho.
The German club are holding out for a £100million fee for Sancho but United chief Ed Woodward is playing hardball and reluctant to go over the £80m mark.
Dortmund are now looking to speed things along, according to Sport Bild, by telling United they must conclude a deal in the next week.
Whilst that could force the hand of the Red Devils, it could also play into their favour and avoid a repeat of one of their recent mistakes.
Last summer, the Red Devils were linked with Harry Maguire throughout the window and haggled with Leicester City over his price tag.
Eventually, they gave in and made him the world’s most expensive defender just a few days before their season-opener against Chelsea.
Similarly, their chase of Bruno Fernandes dragged on in January and saw him make his debut against Wolves just 48 hours after putting pen to paper.
According to ESPN, the late nature of both of those deals bemused and frustrated many at Old Trafford as players were rushed into first-team action.
Solskjaer and his coaching staff are reportedly keen to get deals done as soon as possible so they can welcome them to the club well ahead of the start of the new season.
And pressure from Dortmund to do just that could force the hand of Ed Woodward and the hierarchy to make it happen.
Ultimately, it would seem unlikely Dortmund would reject United if they met their valuation after the August 10 deadline.
Sancho is also in pre-season training with the German club already ahead of the new Bundesliga season.
United, meanwhile, will still likely be facing Europa League action in Germany if a Sancho deal is completed soon.
But having him around with plenty of time before a Premier League restart would seem a preferable option for Solskjaer and his staff.
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