Former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has warned Manchester United that merely signing Jadon Sancho won't be enough to turn them into Premier League title challengers this season.
Sancho has been United's top target all summer but Borussia Dortmund remain adamant he is staying in Germany with less than two weeks remaining in the summer window.
United have made progress in talks over Sancho's wages and agent's fees, but United and Dortmund remain far apart in their valuation of the player, with the Westfalenstadion club understood to be holding out for €120million for the England international.
Fletcher isn't convinced Sancho will have the instantly transformative effect many are expecting.
He told Sky Sports after United's win over Luton Town in the Carabao Cup: “If you add Jadon Sancho to that Man United team, do they instantly go and challenge for the title? No. I think that is what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is thinking as well: people are outraged we haven’t added Jadon Sancho, that means we can’t challenge for the title.
"I still think you’ve got to bridge a gap between Liverpool and Man City first before you overtake them. I think Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the club are willing to be patient, if it means not signing Sancho this summer, adding in other areas, having another season with this team and improving and then adding Jadon Sancho next summer - what’s wrong with that?
"If that’s your main target, why not wait for him instead of signing a stop-gap and eventually losing out on Sancho?”
