Manchester United have agreed a fee in principle with Borussia Dortmund for England winger Jadon Sancho.
It is understood United will pay Dortmund 85m euros (£73m) for the 21-year-old, who joined them from Manchester City in 2017.
Personal terms are yet to be finalised and a medical completed but neither are expected to present a problem.
The news will be welcomed by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who wants to build on United’s progress last season.
They finished runners-up to Premier League champions Manchester City and reached the Europa League final, losing to Villarreal.
The United boss has identified four key positions he wants to improve: right side of his midfield, then the central defensive, midfield and attacking areas.
Sancho fills the first of those.
The news brings to an end a long chase for the Londoner, who shone in Watford’s academy.
United expected to sign him last summer but could not agree a fee.
He is set to become the second-most expensive English footballer of all time behind Harry Maguire, who joined United from Leicester for £80m in August 2019.
Sancho scored 50 goals and registered 57 assists in 137 appearances for Dortmund, scoring twice in the German Cup final to help the Bundesliga side to a 4-1 victory over RB Leipzig in May.
He has won 20 caps for England since his international debut in 2018, scoring three goals, and was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
From City to United, via Dortmund – Jadon Sancho timeline
March 2000: Born in Camberwell, south London, growing up in nearby Kennington.
2007:Spotted by Watford at the age of seven, registering as a player two years later.
March 2015: Joins Manchester City shortly before his 15th birthday for a fee rising up to £500,000.
August 2017: Leaves City aged 17 without making a senior appearance, joining Borussia Dortmund for about £10m.
October 2017: Part of England squad that wins the U17 World Cup, though he only takes part in the group stage before being recalled by Dortmund. Makes his Dortmund debut as a late substitute in a 2-2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt.
April 2018: Scores his first Dortmund goal in a 4-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen a month after his 18th birthday.
October 2018: Makes his England debut aged 18 in their Nations League draw with Croatia, the first player born in the 2000s to play for the Three Lions.
September 2019: Scores his first England goals at the age of 19 in a 5-3 win against Kosovo.
February 2020: Becomes the only teenager to score 25 Bundesliga goals after hitting the opener in a 5-0 win over Union Berlin a month before his 20th birthday.
June 2020: Ends the 2019-20 season with 20 goals and 18 assists in 44 appearances for Dortmund in all competitions.
May 2021: After his proposed move to Old Trafford fell through in the summer of 2020, Sancho notches 16 goals and 20 assists across all competitions in 2020-21 for Dortmund, earning him a spot in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 squad.