After making his Bundesliga debut for Borussia Dortmund back in 2017 aged just 17, it’s easy to forget that Jadon Sancho is now a fully-fledged England international at 20-years-old.
But after a serious dip in form towards the end of last year, many fans were quick to question whether his story was another all too familiar tale of a failed wonderkid ruined by the speculation of a record-breaking transfer.
Borussia Dortmund breakthrough
After leaving Manchester City in pursuit of first-team football, Sancho burst on to the scene back in late 2017 making his senior first-team debut as a substitute for Borussia Dortmund in the 83rd minute against Eintracht Frankfurt.
After struggles with injury, the winger saw his playing time limited after making his initial debut. However, on his fourth start he became the youngest Englishman to score a Bundesliga goal, and the first for Dortmund, when he struck against Bayer Leverkusen just 13 minutes into the game.
The then-18-year-old continued to shine throughout the encounter as he provided two assists in a 3-0 win as Dortmund moved up to second in the table.
Back-to-back brilliant Bundesliga seasons
While fans were excited by these initial performances it would be the 2018-19 season where Sancho showed his true value.
In his what would be his first full campaign, Dortmund’s No 7 racked up some simply sensational numbers as he scored 12 goals alongside 18 assists in 34 Bundesliga appearances.
The former City man’s success didn’t go unnoticed back home, with England manager Gareth Southgate handing him his international debut in March 2019.
While his first full season was impressive, Sancho would improve on those figures in the following campaign. Last term he produced 17 goals and 17 assists in 32 Bundesliga matches. He also scored two and setup two in eight Champions League appearances.
After an output of 64 goals and assists in 66 appearances across his first two full Bundesliga seasons, there is no doubt that Sancho would have been a shoo-in for Southgate’s Euros squad last summer.
Sancho’s skill overcomes rough patch of form
While many out of form players used the suspension of football as a chance to get fit and regain their form, for Sancho it came very much at the wrong time who was flying before then. However, after the interruption of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the youngster’s form took an unexpected dip.
This was exemplified by the fact it wasn’t until January 3 that he got his first Bundesliga goal of this season. That came in a crucial 2-0 win over Wolfsburg – with both fighting to secure a top-four finish.
However, since then he hasn’t looked back – providing six goals and six assists in his next 10 games for the club.
On what was his 99th league appearance for Dortmund, Sancho scored and assisted in a 3-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld last month. In doing so he became the first and youngest player in Bundesliga history to reach 50 assists in less than 100 games.
Sancho’s return to form comes at a perfect time ahead of this summer’s delayed Euros and it’s easy to see why Dortmund slapped an £108million price tag on his head last summer, amid Manchester United interest.
Sancho is a record-breaking young talent who still hasn’t reached his full potential and with the Dortmund winger likely to earn yet another international call-up this summer it’s time for him to showcase his talent on the global stage.
