Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has conceded that the club will not be able to keep hold of Liverpool and Manchester United linked Jadon Sancho for the long term.
The England international forced his way out of Manchester City to join Dortmund in 2017 and has been a revelation in German football over the last two years.
Scoring 13 goals and adding 19 assists to his name last season, Sancho was one of the top targets for Manchester United in the summer, but the player was not thinking along the lines of leaving Dortmund.
Liverpool have also been linked with Sancho and a transfer scrap for the youngster could kick off next summer.
Dortmund sporting director Zorc is unwilling to wave the white flag and accept that Sancho will go next summer, but he also insists he cannot promise that the England international will be at the club for the next five years.
Asked if Sancho will leave next summer, Zorc told German magazine Kicker: “No decision has been made on that.
“But you do not have to be a prophet to say that Jadon will certainly not be here for another five years.”
Zorc says that Sancho is acutely aware of Dortmund’s role in his development and believes it would not have been possible had he stayed in England.
“But he knows very well that he has undergone this positive development at Borussia Dortmund.
“I doubt that it would have been possible at a top English club.
“We trust the players early and are not afraid of playing them early.
"He acknowledges that.”
Sancho has a contract until 2022 with Dortmund and could well command a fee in excess of €100m next summer.
