Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona on Friday insisted that their players Jadon Sancho and Ousmane Dembele are not headed to Manchester United, AFP reported.

Dortmund said there is no chance that England winger Sancho will join Manchester United before the transfer window closes in three days time.

“We have of course had communication with Manchester, but everything there is to say on the subject has already been said by us,” sports director Michael Zorc said with the transfer window to close on Monday.

“That will not change in the next three days.”

According to Sky Sports last Tuesday, Dortmund rejected a formal bid from United of up to 100 million euros (£91 million, $117 million).

Sancho, 20, who scored 17 goals in the Bundesliga last season, has been a long-term target for United as they look to build on finishing third in the Premier League last season.

It’s unclear whether Sancho will be fit to play Freiburg at home in the Bundesliga on Saturday, having also sat out Wednesday’s 3-2 defeat away to Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup showdown.

“Jadon has a slight cold, we’ll see,” said coach Lucien Favre on Friday with Sancho so far having tested negative for the coronavirus earlier in the week.

So far in 2020/21, Dortmund beat fellow Champions League side Moenchengladbach a fortnight ago, but crashed to a 2-0 defeat at Augsburg last Saturday before losing to Bayern on Wednesday.

No Dembele too

For their part, Barcelona too insisted on Friday that French attacker Ousmane Dembele is not heading to Manchester United.

“There are no negotiations with Manchester United,” said sporting director Ramon Planes. “He is a player we are counting on.”

The transfer window closes on Monday, October 5.

After Barcelona’s disastrous finish to last season, Planes, who was named in his post in August, has been conducting a squad overhaul with new manager Ronald Koeman.

The 23-year-old Demebele, who has suffered a series of hamstring injuries since arriving from Dortmund in 2017, has been linked with a move away.

“We hope to be able to take advantage of his footballing talent. I am convinced that he will have a great year with us”, Planes told a press conference to introduce teenage Dutch defender Sergino Dest.

“There are four days left of mercato, it’s an atypical mercato. A lot can happen,” Planes added.

He signalled that two French defenders, World Cup winner Samuel Umtiti and 20-year-old Jean-Clair Todibo, could be following Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal out of the club.

“For Umtiti, we wish him all the best. He is a great player, but at the moment he is going through a bad situation, which is typical of injuries in football,” Planes said.

“Jean-Clair has several offers. He wants to have time to play and grow up in another team, and that must be respected.”

(With AFP inputs)