Borussia Dortmund fans have been warned not to get swept up in the Jadon Sancho hysteria as the winger returns.
Borussia Dortmund’s social media team predictably made a big deal of the winger’s return, with 18 different posts on Instagram in a six hour period.
Fair to say, there is some excitement at the club at landing Jadon Sancho back on loan, after his 2021 exit.
But can the winger live up to the hype? He didn’t at Manchester United.
Jadon Sancho warning
Borussia Dortmund have been urged not to set their expectations too high over Jadon Sancho, who leaves Manchester United after an unhappy start to his third season at the club.
German reporter Manfred Sedbauer tells channel Sport1 that Dortmund cannot assume Sancho will actually make an impact.
He told the outlet: “It is not a lasting reinforcement. It is presumptuous to only evaluate what a player is capable of showing and to base this on his maximum performance. Sancho is out of step and hasn’t even trained with the Manchester team recently.”
He went on to note that Dortmund looked past previous discipline problems Sancho had in Germany, adding that his issues at Manchester United are ‘not new’.
Sedbauer says: “Two and a half years later, one has to realise that there has been no development towards professionalism.”
He is worried about what impact this could have on the squad, adding: “There is definitely a risk that it will endanger the climate again.”
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Does Sancho have enough time
Sancho’s lack of football means he might not be in the Dortmund squad right away. That’s an issue for them to deal with.
What it does mean, is that there is a limited time window for the Manchester United loanee to make an impact.
Newspaper De Westen write: “A six-month loan is actually an extremely unfavourable model for a comeback.
“There is a big risk that he will have just played his way back into form when the season ends and he has to go back.”
United In Focus has been told there is a possibility Jadon Sancho’s loan might be extended for the 2024/25 season if clubs agree he needs more time. But that’s for later down the line.
Manchester United need Sancho to recover his transfer value, so the club can sell him for an acceptable price. And while extra time could provide more opportunity for Sancho to restore his reputation, it’s a risky business, because it would also mean more time for him to relapse into old bad habits.
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