How Jadon Sancho earned an England call-up with superb form for Borussia Dortmund
Written by News on 05/10/2018
We examine how Jadon Sancho’s exceptional form for Borussia Dortmund earned him an England call-up – despite the fact he is yet to start a Bundesliga game this season…
Few expected Jadon Sancho’s name to be among the 23-man squad announced by Gareth Southgate on Thursday. The 18-year-old has not even featured for England’s U21s yet, and he is still looking to force his way into the Dortmund team this season.
But Sancho has not let that stop him. In just 124 minutes of league football this season, he has recorded more assists (five) than anyone else in Europe’s top-five leagues, also scoring once. He set up yet another goal in Dortmund’s Champions League win over Monaco on Wednesday night.
Barely six weeks ago, Southgate questioned what young players like Sancho, Ryan Sessegnon and Phil Foden had done to deserve a call-up, but his eye-catching performances on the continent have clearly turned the England manager’s head ahead of a double-header with Croatia and Spain live on Sky Sports next weekend.
Rapid rise to fame
London-born Sancho rose to relative fame overnight when he turned down a new deal at Manchester City in 2017 to join Dortmund – and immediately claimed his new club’s No 7 shirt.
Along with Foden, the flying winger was the star of England’s U17 World Cup-winning team in India last year, albeit he had to leave at the start of the knockout stage to return to Germany for club commitments.
Since then, Sancho has played five times for England U19s, scoring twice, while attempting to force his way into the Dortmund line-up.
“He is a very fast and creative player on the wing, just like Leroy Sane, Marco Reus or Christian Pulisic,” says Sacha Bacinski, a sports reporter with Sky in Germany. “He has good control and a strong eye for his better-positioned colleagues with a pass.”
Sancho’s scintillating form – and why he fits in
Sancho’s start to this season has been stunning, and there is a growing feeling in Germany he can have a big impact on Dortmund’s Bundesliga challenge as it develops.
Across Europe’s big leagues Lionel Messi, Benjamin Mendy and Dimitri Payet are on his tail in the assist stakes, but when they catch him it will do nothing to dampen the impressive start the ex-Man City and Watford player has made.
As a 17-year-old, Sancho found himself on the fringes of the Dortmund first team last year under Peter Bosz and then Peter Stoger, with the club’s inconsistent form discouraging either manager to put their trust in youth. Even then, he still managed a goal and four assists in his first season in senior football.
Summer replacement Lucien Favre has bedded Sancho into his team gently this season. Unseating Dortmund’s more senior players is a tricky challenge for any young player, especially when they are top of the Bundesliga – but with Sancho’s form it is looking only a matter of time.
It has not just been the number of goals he has created that has impressed, it is just as much about the manner of them. He has often picked out team-mates when well-placed to score himself, although he can add his own goals too – as he did in a 7-0 rout of Nurnburg last week.
“For a player of his age, he fits into the team well,” says Bacinski. “The fans are very happy with the whole team this year, but of course they are excited by Sancho and his performances.
“Young players with the amount of skill he has are very welcome in Dortmund, but they have a lot of weapons in attack so there is a lot of competition.
“I think he will start some of the upcoming games; at the beginning of the season, Favre wanted to find his best team and trusted his older players, but he knows exactly what Sancho can offer.”
England have lacked real quality out wide for some time – Raheem Sterling has been deployed as more of a number 10 for Southgate, and they have abandoned using out-and-out wide men at all since adopting wing-backs in the run-up to the World Cup.
On the little he has had to see of him, Sancho has displayed all the qualities Southgate likes in his England players. Hard work, industry, energy and no shortfall of quality to boot.
His ability to play anywhere in behind a front-man will also have impressed the England boss, who has always valued versatility during his time with England.
A new deal, and a happy manager
Favre has spoken very fondly about Sancho in the press this season, and he has made such a positive impression at Dortmund already that they tied him down to a new four-year deal this week, barely a year after he first arrived.
Sancho has already done more than many English players manage, not only leading the charge of young players leaving England to find better opportunities abroad, but also impressing on the continent so far, something many Brits have failed to do.
Favre was sold from day one, telling reporters in one of his first press conferences after taking over: “Jadon is a very good player. I saw that right away in the first training session.
“He’s got enormous potential, but it’ll need time for him to improve and there are some corrections to be made about his style.”
He added further praise after the youngster made two goals in 23 minutes in a 4-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, and was left smiling again on Wednesday evening when he set up Jacob Bruun Larsen’s opener in Dortmund’s 3-0 win over Monaco.
And with the pace of Sancho’s upward trajectory, he may not be left on the Dortmund sidelines for long – or England’s, for that matter.
(c) Sky News 2018: How Jadon Sancho earned an England call-up with superb form for Borussia Dortmund
