Borussia Dortmund appear unlikely to sign on-loan Jadon Sancho on a permanent transfer from Manchester United after sporting director Sebastian Kehl said it will too expensive.

Having previously become one the best wingers in Europe during his first spell at Dortmund between 2017 and 2021, Sancho returned to Germany on a temporary deal last month after falling out with Erik ten Hag and becoming frozen out in Manchester.

Sancho has already likened re-joining Dortmund to being back at “home” and said it was often something on his mind during his time at United. But his time there may not last, with Kehl admitting that the Bundesliga side are not likely to have the financial power to buy him come summer – Dortmund are in a similar situation with on-loan Chelsea left-back Ian Maatsen.

“Unfortunately for both players, neither option was realistic,” Kehl told Sky Sport Germany.

“If you know what we got for Jadon Sancho two-and-a-half years ago, then you know also that it might not be very, very difficult,” he added, referring to the £73m transfer to England.

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“We naturally advocated for a [permanent] option on him – and also with Ian – but the negotiating position was not such that we could implement it and so we will accept it for now.”

United did not allow an option to buy be included in the final deal, with the possibility that a return to his former self while at Dortmund could see his value soar once again. The club has employed a similar tactic with loan deals in the past, notably when Alexis Sanchez joined Inter in 2019.

Having not played for United since August, Sancho has already got more Bundesliga minutes under his belt this season in the space of three weeks than Premier League minutes in five months. The 23-year-old contributed assists on his first two appearances as Dortmund beat Darmstadt and Koln, although he missed Friday’s stalemate with Heidenheim due to injury.