Jadon Sancho offers star quality to make Man United title challengers again if they can agree a deal with Dortmund... but would his arrival leave Mason Greenwood on the bench or speed up his switch to centre forward? And what about Martial and Rashford?
* Manchester United are threatening to pull out of a deal to sign Jadon Sancho
* Any move for him is big as United look to challenge for the Premier League title
* Their return to the Champions League next season means star quality is needed
* But 18-year-old star Mason Greenwood could be pushed out despite top season
* Both players - and Daniel James - would be competing for right forward place
* However, Greenwood may be able to move back to natural centre forward role
Put yourself in Mason Greenwood's boots for a moment. You've had an absolutely superb breakthrough season for the club you adore.
Seventeen goals in all competitions including double figures in the Premier League, equalling a record set by no less than Wayne Rooney and still the chance to finish it all by winning the Europa League.
But just as you are congratulating yourself on the perfect year, all the newspaper headlines and sports news bulletins report that Manchester United are looking to land Jadon Sancho... who plays in your position.
Manchester United have made Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jadon Sancho a priority signing. His arrival will leave manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoilt for choice in the attacking positions. But Sancho's arrival could leave Mason Greenwood sidelined despite a breakthrough season
Of course, the rumours that Sancho is bound for Old Trafford have been swirling for months now so Greenwood has had plenty of time to come to terms with the fresh competition within the squad. The latest is that United could well pull out of a deal with Dortmund digging their heels in over a £108million fee.
But should current obstacles be navigated and Sancho does make the switch to Old Trafford, it is inevitable that Greenwood's spot in the side would be jeopardised.
It can be argued that the 18-year-old has certainly done everything in his power to make a statement to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he deserves to keep his place with the new campaign coming around quickly.
But Greenwood will also understand how things work at United. Solskjaer has made no secret of his ambitions to restore the club to title contenders and that requires the best of the best.
With Champions League football restored for next season, it looks like United have gone out and splashed the necessary cash to recruit Solskjaer's No 1 summer transfer target.
Sancho, who with 20 goals and 20 assists for Borussia Dortmund enjoyed another outstanding season, represents an upgrade on pretty much any player in that position anywhere in the world.
At 20, he's only two years older than Greenwood and is two years younger than Daniel James, the other United option for the right side of the forward line. Sancho won't be budging anytime soon if the transfer is completed.
Sancho is arguably the world's best player in his position and will bring United star quality. He would arrive at Old Trafford following an exceptional season for Borussia Dortmund
So what does this mean for Greenwood? Is the teenager really doomed to spend the whole of next season on the substitutes' bench? Or is there another role that he can perform?
The first thing to point out is that Sancho is versatile. He played predominantly on the right for Dortmund but for a portion of last season was deployed on the left.
In certain late season games he occupied a more central role alongside Julian Brandt as Dortmund played a narrower attack in a 3-4-2-1.
So Sancho may not necessarily be treading on Greenwood's toes. It may be his England colleague Marcus Rashford, usually on the left for United, who finds himself looking over his shoulder.
This versatility offers Solskjaer the luxury of choice. The United boss has shown his tactical acumen, especially in games against bigger teams. There will be an element of surprise and players can rotate positions in game.
But there's also a pecking order at United and, unfortunately for Greenwood, logic dictates that Rashford is the more senior player and takes precedence. Sancho, with his £108m price tag, goes right above him as well.
It could be Marcus Rashford looking over his shoulder with Sancho versatile across the attack
So Greenwood may struggle to match the 2,412 minutes of first-team game time he has enjoyed this season, while James, himself a new arrival only a year ago, will almost certainly struggle to beat his 2,918 minutes.
United's elevation to the Champions League will also limit their chances. The beauty of the Europa League is that Solskjaer was able to heavily rotate his team all through the group stage and even now in the last-16.
A fringe side will play against LASK in what is the second leg of the last-16 on Wednesday night with United basking in all the certainties of a 5-0 first leg advantage.
But next season, instead of Astana, Partizan Belgrade and AZ Alkmaar in the group, United will be confronted with higher quality opposition. The likes of Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire and Sancho will be playing full-time in Europe.
And with an attack of Rashford, Fernandes and Sancho behind centre forward Anthony Martial, Solskjaer will certainly feel confident of going deep in the Champions League.
Perhaps the key for Greenwood will come in adapting his position. On most of the occasions he has played at centre forward for United this season, he has delivered. There was the 4-0 home win over Norwich City in January, the 6-0 FA Cup rout of Tranmere Rovers and the first leg against LASK in Austria to name some examples.
Greenwood has enjoyed a superb campaign, scoring 17 times for United's senior team. Greenwood, 18, usually delivers when Solskjaer plays him in his natural centre forward role. He was on target in the first leg of United's Europa League last-16 tie against LASK in March
So maybe Solskjaer sees Greenwood's long-term future as a centre forward and Sancho's arrival may accelerate this change. Or, more accurately, change back.
All through his time in United's academy, that's where Greenwood played. Last season he scored 15 in 13 in the Under-18 Premier League and five in five in the UEFA Youth League from his strongest position.
It's only actually because of needs must in the first team that he's been shifted out wide and you can see from Greenwood's finishing ability - both feet, picking out corners with incredible accuracy - that he's a born centre forward.
Others are inclined to agree. Glenn Hoddle said a few weeks ago that Greenwood will one day push Rashford out of the United team because he's a 'far better clinical finisher.'
Alan Shearer has made the prediction that by the time Euro 2020 comes around next year, Greenwood will be in the England squad.
And the youngster really does have the perfect tutor in Solskjaer, the man who built his career on reading the ricochets around the penalty box, always being in the right place at the right time to poach goals.
Daniel James, who can also play on the right side, may also see Sancho reduce his game time
So in that case it's Martial who may well have to move aside. That sounds crazy at the moment because the Frenchman has been in blistering form since football's resumption, scoring six times.
But he's been inconsistent with his form in the past and previous managers have pondered whether he's worth indulging.
Solskjaer seems to have got the best out of him for the time being but in the long-term there's every chance Greenwood could replace Martial and save United millions in the transfer market.
With some clever man-management, Solskjaer can rotate the pair of them next season depending on the opposition and the circumstances.
There will be the usual injury issues and fatigue will be more of a worry than ever given that nobody is getting much pre-season down time. With the exception of Sancho, as it happens.
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Anthony Martial has found some of his best form for United since football resumed
Many United fans will feel discomfort that a mega-money signing like Sancho will block the progress of an academy graduate.
The club prides itself on developing quality young talent and Solskjaer embraces this.
The fact that Sancho spent some of his formative years up the road at Manchester City makes this even more complex.
But while on the surface Sancho's arrival looks like bad news for Greenwood, it could actually speed up a transition to a deadly centre forward that will happen eventually anyway.
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