Dortmund chief Ricken confirms interest in Sancho

Borussia Dortmund managing director Lars Ricken confirmed the club are considering a move for Jadon Sancho this summer.

Sancho is currently on loan at Aston Villa from Manchester United, though his deal at Old Trafford is set to expire at the end of the season.

The 26-year-old struggled at United following his £73m (€85m) move from Dortmund in 2021, being loaned out to Dortmund, Chelsea and Villa over the past three seasons.

Sancho has scored just once across all competitions for Villa this term, finding the back of the net in the Europa League, while he helped Chelsea win the Conference League last season.

The winger made 118 Bundesliga appearances across his two previous spells with Dortmund, scoring 40 goals and providing 47 assists in the German top flight.

Ricken told SportBild: "We're currently looking at a lot of players and analysing them closely.

"We check whether they can make us better. We're doing that with Jadon as well."

Ricken also offered an update on Nico Schlotterbeck, who has been linked with a move away from Signal Iduna Park this summer.

The defender's contract expires in June 2027, and though the club are eager to renew his deal, they do not want him to leave on a free transfer next year.

"There are three options: we extend the contract, we sell him in the summer, or we go into the final year of the contract. We all want to avoid the last option. That wouldn't be good for us or for Nico," Ricken added.

"We still assume that the first option will work out. I've always approached the talks with optimism. We will now continue them.

"Ole [Book, Dortmund's new sporting director] has now also met Nico for the first time, and the three of us have already sat down together."