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Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea are among a number of top Premier League clubs who could scale back their transfer window spending in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak.

Top officials at some of major English football clubs believe there could be a public backlash at spending what may be viewed as obscene amounts on new players when the next transfer window eventually opens.

And that could scupper United’s pursuit of £120million-rated Borussia Dortmund and England winger Jadon Sancho who is high on their list of targets with Chelsea and Liverpool also chasing the teenager who turns 20 on Wednesday.

(Image: Bongarts/Getty Images)

Old Trafford boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer identified Sancho as having the right DNA for United months ago and the club have been working on plans to try to make a deal happen.

Kop boss Jurgen Klopp, former manager at Dortmund, and Chelsea manager Frank Lampard also have Sancho on their radar but the Coronavirus pandemic is forcing clubs to look at the bigger picture.

With world economies devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of deaths from the disease and ordinary football fans facing huge financial problems caused by the health crisis, football will be under intense scrutiny when the sport resumes.

United, Liverpool and Chelsea are among a host of clubs sensitive to the hardships of their staff and supporters.

(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

And conversations are believed to have already started as to how it will be perceived if clubs emerge from the the crisis and immediately begin paying enormous transfer fees with the country brought to its knees by Coronavirus.

One club administrator told MirrorSport : “It won’t be a good look if after all that’s happening clubs immediately start paying huge transfer fees for new players.

“I would imagine that conversation is already being had at many clubs who were planning on substantial investments in the market during the summer window.

“Paying over £100million for a player when the world emerges from the Covid-19 crisis would seem to be inviting trouble.

(Image: PA)

“What the transfer window will look like when it does operate again is anyone’s guess but you can be certain club’s will be treading cautiously.

“We could even see this being the moment that the transfer market is recalibrated with many in football believing it’s lost all sense of reality in the last few years.

“Players salaries in the future may also come under review by some clubs as football counts the cost of an unprecedented shutdown of the sport.”

Solskjaer had hoped to sign three players costing up to £200 million as he continues to rebuild United.

Rivals Manchester City were also planning a £150million overhaul with boss Pep Guardiola keen to freshen his squad after falling 25 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool.

(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Klopp has already held talks with his Fenway Sports Group bosses in Boston on a transfer war-chest as he attempts to make sure Liverpool’s Premier League dominance is no one-season wonder.

As well as Sancho, Klopp has been tracking RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner who has a £50 million release clause as well as Bayer Leverkusen’s £90million-rated play-making midfielder Kai Havertz.

But those kind of figures could lead to trouble for top clubs – with the football world predicted to be a different place after Coronavirus.