The winter slump was only short, but Jadon Sancho filled it effortlessly. His arrival at Borussia Dortmund had been promised for a whole week. Planes he was supposed to be on had been spotted – but they never took off. The planned arrival in Marbella, where BVB completed its winter training camp until last Tuesday, also did not work out.
On Wednesday evening the time had finally come: the England international arrived on board a private plane. Flight PVD16R was originally announced for the Manchester-Paderborn route – but actually landed in Dortmund with its long-awaited cargo. On Thursday morning, Sancho completed the mandatory medical check. The prodigal son is back where he really wanted to be, at least for six months: at BVB.
Sancho (23), who went from Dortmund to Manchester United in 2021 for a fee of around 85 million euros, will be loaned out for six months. The deal will cost Borussia three million euros in loan fee, the offensive player’s lavish salary of around 18 million will largely continue to be paid by Manchester – minus around 2.5 million, which Sancho will forego for the duration of the loan. It is his contribution to the concession of his employer, who had long resisted this deal.
also read
Kicker, Communio, Kickbase
BVB officially announced the change early on Thursday afternoon. “When I came into the locker room today, it felt like coming home. “I can’t wait to see my teammates again, go out on the pitch, play football with a smile on my face, prepare and score goals,” said Sancho.
also read
There are high hopes for Sancho, even though he hasn’t played a competitive game since August. With his class, he should contribute to BVB still managing to qualify for the Champions League despite all sorts of problems – with Sancho picking up where he left off two and a half years ago. “Tack, tack, tack, with one touch,” former BVB coach Lucien Favre raved about the winger’s cheeky, unconventional style of play. Sancho had already made his Bundesliga debut under his predecessor Peter Bosz in October 2017 – when he was 17. He became a regular player in the 2018/19 season.
Advertisement
Eurojackpot
Get your chance to win the 120 million jackpot now!
Play Eurojackpot and register as a new customer at LOTTO24. The voucher is already automatically activated in the ticket. As a WELT reader you only pay 3.60 instead of 6.60 euros for 3 fields.
“He wrote a fantastic story at Borussia Dortmund, the contact has never been broken. His exceptional qualities are well known,” BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl told Bild am Sonntag. Above all, the contact with Edin Terzic has survived the numerous crises that Sancho had to go through in Manchester.
This was a key reason why Dortmund tried so hard to get Sancho. At the beginning of his last season at BVB, when he had already been flirting with a move to a big club from the Premier Legaue, he had fallen into a slump in form. He seemed unfocused and his training performance declined. Only after Terzic took over from Favre in December 2020 did Sancho pick up again – and played a key role in BVB making it into the premier class and winning the DFB Cup.
Sancho should bring speed
Now history, at least the first part of it, is about to repeat itself. Sancho should be what BVB is currently missing on the offensive: a difference player who creates moments of surprise with his speed dribbling, his instinct and his technical skills.
When the BVB bosses sat together in the week before Christmas to discuss the reasons for the disappointing Bundesliga season, they quickly came to one point: almost all of the attacking wide players have been too inconsistent so far. This means there is a lack of speed – which makes it easy for the opponent to prepare for the attacks.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (19) shows strong approaches, but he often still lacks an overview. Then he dribbles and misses the moment to finish or pass. Gio Reyna (21) has a number of long-term injuries behind him – as does top talent Julien Duranville (17). The Belgian, arguably the player with the most potential in the squad, suffered several muscle injuries last year. He will currently be missing for a longer period of time.
Karim Adeyemi (21), whose only constant in the current season has been his inconsistency, will also be out until February after a partial tear of his syndesmotic ligament. Only Donyell Malen (24), who has so far scored six goals and two goal assists in 23 competitive games, is relatively stable – but the Dutchman has also repeatedly noticed a drop in performance.
also read
Provided he integrates quickly and is in good fitness, Sancho could become an important factor in a successful comeback. BVB is currently in fifth place in the table, six points behind RB Leipzig. On Saturday we go to Darmstadt 98 (6.30 p.m./live Sky). If the prominent access works, Dortmund will have solved at least one of their problems.
The confidence is great. Because when Sancho was injured in the past – in 2018 he was out due to a ligament injury, in 2021 due to a torn muscle bundle – he managed to get back in touch relatively quickly. He is also very motivated after his problems in Manchester – he is said to have suffered from burnout at the turn of the year 2022/23.
In fact, the English international’s wish to finally be able to get started again is also Dortmund’s hope. It could suit Sancho that he is leaving his home country for the second time in his life. In England he had recently been viewed with increasing skepticism. “Farewell, Jadon Sancho, we hardly knew you,” the portal “Goal.com” wrote. That’s not wrong: When he played, he usually didn’t live up to his potential. In the end he wasn’t even allowed to play anymore.
