[ad_1]
Germany’s Bundesliga will come under the microscopic scrutiny of the football-loving world like never before this weekend.
Quite literally the only decent show in town, it’s resumption amid the Covid-19 crisis will carry its clubs and players before fresh and curious audiences that are millions-strong.
And one of the major fascinations, especially to those English fans who wouldn’t typically while away a Saturday afternoon watching Germany’s top-flight, will be how Jadon Sancho gets on.
Jadon Sancho pictured in Borussia Dortmund training ahead of the Bundesliga’s return
Jadon Sancho has had an electric season with Borussia Dortmund with 17 goals and 19 assists
And if Sancho – and this is quite likely given his 17 goals and 19 assists this season – helps Borussia Dortmund win their Revierderby against bitter rivals Schalke on Saturday, a few minds will start wandering and wondering.
Manchester City supporters, for one, will be excused for asking how exactly Sancho, a gem of their academy, was allowed to depart for Dortmund for just £ 8million back in 2017.
It looks pretty bad on the face of it. With every breathtaking run, eye-of-the-needle pass or accomplished finish the 20-year-old England star produces, the sense of ‘he’s the one that got away’ grows.
And it could be even worse if, as expected, Sancho returns to the Premier League to one of City’s rivals, like Manchester United or Chelsea, when the summer transfer window opens.
But it isn’t quite as straightforward as all that. There certainly doesn’t seem to be a great sense of despair at City that Sancho left and flourished elsewhere, no great inquest or introspection.
Sancho was a gem in Manchester City’s academy but chose to pursue greater game time
Despite many promises, Sancho believed the route to Pep Guardiola’s first team was too long
Let’s not forget that Pep Guardiola’s team have won back-to-back Premier League titles since Sancho’s departure, amassing 198 points and smashing all manner of records in the process.
They’ve also lifted the FA Cup and completed a Treble of League Cup wins in that time so it’s hardly doom and gloom at the Etihad.
And while City will have the contractual option to match whatever offer United or Chelsea or whoever makes to Dortmund for Sancho – and it’s likely to be £ 100m or more – it isn’t likely they’ll be clambering over themselves to get him back.
Let’s not kid ourselves. City knew they had an outstanding talent when they paid £ 66,000, rising to £ 500,000 with add-ons to sign 15-year-old Sancho from Watford in March 2015.
On his debut for their under-18 side, playing against some opponents who were three years older than him, Sancho scored twice. His impressed coach Jason Wilcox described his performance as ‘sensational’.
Sancho had an impressive scoring record and was told he’d be fast-tracked to the first team
Sancho spent two seasons with City with Brahim Diaz (right) and Raheem Sterling (left)
Soon the compilations and highlights reels were flooding social media and YouTube and the buzz grew and grew.
In the 2016-17 season, I’ve scored 13 goals in 15 games for the under-18s, three goals in seven for the under-23s, and two in six for the under-19 UEFA Youth League side.
It wasn’t long before academy coaches spoke of Sancho being fast-tracked to Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad along with contemporaries Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz.
In May 2017, chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak said Guardiola will promote Sancho, Foden and Diaz into the first-team squad. Ironically, it was partly in response to claims City didn’t produce homegrown talent for their first team.
In reality, despite the impressive goal returns, Foden and Diaz were considered ahead of him in their development and that was even before considering the array of world class talent in City’s first-team.
Competition for places was fierce with Sancho facing the prospect of competing with Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva for opportunities. City would then go and buy Riyad Mahrez for £ 60m.
Sancho has set the Bundesliga alight and impressed in the Champions League for Dortmund
Dortmund will challenge Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga title once the season restarts
How the German title race was shaping up prior to the shutdown of the league in March
It was certainly a congested route to first-team stardom, blocked by established international players who were serial trophy winners. Whatever the coaches and chairman said, there were no guarantees and, at best, it was likely to be two to three years before he got a sniff.
So when Dortmund came along promising the No 7 shirt, heaps of game time and Champions League football straight away, it’s little wonder Sancho’s head was turned.
City ultimately accepted Dortmund’s £ 8m offer but efforts were made to persuade Sancho to stay. They offered to make Sancho their highest paid academy player in history and were determined he didn’t move to a rival Premier League.
But there was clearly only so much they could do and what was undoubtedly a gamble for Sancho at the time has paid off handsomely.
31 goals and 42 assists in 90 matches for Dortmund resulted in Sancho becoming an England regular by the age of 20.
Only silverware has eluded him so far but the main fascination of the returning Bundesliga is whether Dortmund can close the current four-point gap to leaders Bayern Munich.
The experience of Sancho’s two City contemporaries is also instructive.
Sancho will have plenty to consider this summer with Manchester United and Chelsea linked
Progress to City’s first team has proved slow for Sancho’s contemporary Phil Foden
Brahim Diaz left Manchester City to take his chances at Real Madrid but game time is limited
Diaz, also 20, played 15 matches for City’s first team, largely off the substitutes bench or in the League Cup.
He decided to sign for Real Madrid in a £ 15.5m deal in January 2019 and will try and make a name for himself there but game time is limited and competition strong.
Foden, 19, has now racked up 62 games for City and has two Premier League, one FA Cup and three League Cup medals to his credit.
That’s without really playing a full part in any of those triumphs but his chance is expected to come next season when David Silva makes way and no doubt he’ll thrive. When he does, he too will be in the England team.
So it’s hard to tell whether Sancho would have kicked on at City in the same way he has at Dortmund or not.
Sancho has become a key part of the England team and won 11 caps for the Three Lions
It’s certain Sancho will become a key part of Gareth Southgate’s plans for years to come
Unquestionably given the competition for places, he wouldn’t have enjoyed as much game time. But there’s no reason why he wouldn’t have the same stack of medals as Foden.
Guardiola has spoken about Sancho leaving but it comes across as more of a disappointment at not finding out whether he’d have made it at City or not.
‘He didn’t want to take this challenge, this opportunity to discover if he was able to,’ Guardiola said in March last year.
‘I decided to go there. So it’s perfect. It’s going well and congratulations on what he is doing.
‘He is doing an incredible performance. I did incredibly well this season. What would have happened this season [here]? I don’t know. ‘
Sancho has always spoken highly of Guardiola despite his decision to leave Manchester City
As for Sancho, he’s always been careful to not criticize City for not spotting his abundant talents.
‘When I left, there was a lot of people that doubted me – they were like’ oh you shouldn’t have left Pep Guardiola ‘- but I just thought that it was the best thing for me,’ I’ve told FourFourTwo.
‘I still have love for Pep, I still love everybody at the club because they took me from Watford and helped me develop into who I am today.’
Perhaps the sense of regret will hit home at City if Sancho rocks up at United or Chelsea and transforms them into title contenders next season.
For now, Sancho has a unique opportunity to continue shining for Dortmund as the whole world watches in admiration.
