Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus has told Sky Germany that Jadon Sancho is staying at the club for one more year.
Manchester United have not given up on trying to sign the 20-year-old England international, despite missing the August 10 deadline the Bundesliga club set for the deal to be completed.
The Dortmund hierarchy have stated on several occasions - before and after the deadline - that if it was not met Sancho would remain at the club, but rumblings have continued over United submitting a bid before the transfer window closes on October 5.
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But a move to Old Trafford now seems extremely unlikely in the next few days following comments by the Dortmund skipper.
Asked if Sancho had made the right call to stay and had the potential to be as good as Cristiano Ronaldo, Reus told Sky Germany: "For us players that was great news.
"We all were happy that he will be with us for one more year because he delivers assists and goals, so we get points.
"If he gets as big as (Lionel) Messi or Ronaldo, we will see. He needs time, experience and it will be important how he manages the times when things don't go so well. But he has the confidence and the quality."
United made a breakthrough in negotiations with Sancho's representatives earlier this month, with wages and agents fees no longer thought to be an issue for the Premier League club, but on September 23 Dharmesh Sheth told The Transfer Show that Dortmund had been left "bemused" by United's attempts to sign him.
United's only signing of the window so far has been central midfielder Donny van de Beek from Ajax, but manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has suggested the club are still hoping to do more business.
Dark arts of transfers
Football writer Andy Mitten has been questioning Manchester United's waning power in the transfer market and says they have lost the ability to do the "dark arts of transfers" with fans receiving "mixed messages" about the club's financial position.
"It's very frustrating for fans and they've seen just one player come in so far," Mitten told Sky Sports News.
"I don't think anyone has the same pulling power as Sir Alex Ferguson but to be fair to Ole, he's been putting calls in and I know he's spoken to several managers about players who he likes."
Read the full article here.
Neville: Man Utd 'negligent' over signings
Gary Neville has had some strong words concerning United's recent transfer policy.
After their 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace in their first game of the season at Old Trafford, he told the Gary Neville Podcast that his former club could miss out on a top-four spot if they failed to bring in some new faces.
Read the full article here.
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Summer transfer window - key dates and times
The summer transfer window closes at 11pm on Monday October 5 with a feast of activity lined up on Transfer Deadline Day on Sky Sports News and across our Sky Sports platforms.
A domestic-only window for deals between the Premier League and EFL then runs from October 5 and closes on Friday October 16 at 5pm. Follow all the news and analysis on SSN and across Sky Sports' digital platforms, including with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.