Both players have been linked with Manchester United and Chelsea but the financial impact of coronavirus on clubs remains to be seen
Tuesday 31 March 2020 16:51, UK
Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen intend to stand firm on their £100m+ valuations of Jadon Sancho and Kai Havertz despite the financial impact of coronavirus on German football.
The two Bundesliga clubs - among the richest in the country - are not expecting to be under increased pressure to generate income through player sales, despite lost gate receipts due to the suspension of all competitions.
Both were recently among four clubs who contributed to an £18m solidarity fund to help struggling rivals in the top flight and second tier, and Leverkusen did so despite owners Bayer - the pharmaceutical company - seeing more than 20 per cent wiped off its share-price during March.
That lack of financial pressure could change, however, if the German Football League (DFL) is not resumed by mid-May - currently the country's provisional date for a return to matches, albeit behind closed doors.
There are growing fears in Germany over the future of several Bundesliga clubs and most in the second division should football stay on hold into the summer months, in part due to the restrictions on private investment because of the league's '50+1' rule.
Concerns are being raised that clubs could be forced into a fire-sale of their best talent to other countries - namely the Premier League - to generate cash when the transfer window opens in June, and this has ramped up discussions over potentially scrapping the 50+1 rule.
A number of sources in the country have suggested transfer fees could be slashed by as much as 50 per cent, but this is not expected to impact the valuations of the very top-level players such as Sancho and Havertz, whose market remains the very top clubs in Europe.
Dortmund and Leverkusen are even said to be willing to wait until 2021 to sell those players, when both will have only one year left on their contracts.
It also remains to be seen how significant the financial impact of the virus will be on the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, who have been linked with both players, with just as much uncertainty over the resumption of British football by June.
The window is scheduled to open on June 10 and Sky Sports News has been told that clubs are continuing to work on the basis that this will be the case, but an internal FIFA document presented to its coronavirus working group last week recommended allowing transfer window dates to be shifted in accordance with changes to the football calendar.
Sancho has become one of Europe's top young talents after joining Dortmund from Manchester City's academy in 2017, scoring 31 goals in 90 appearances and breaking into the England first-team.
Havertz is one of Germany's top young talents with 38 goals in 139 appearances for Leverkusen and has been tracked by a string of Premier League clubs, including Tottenham, for a number of years.
