Sancho eyes Wembley redemption
Unwanted Manchester United star out to prove point with Dortmund
JADON SANCHO is seeking redemption on home soil when he returns to England with Borussia Dortmund in Saturday’s (Sun 3am Malaysian time) Champions League final clash with Real Madrid.
The showpiece will be Sancho’s latest chance to prove that his unhappy Manchester United spell was a result of the disfunction at the club, rather than a personal failing.
Sancho returned to Dortmund in January, the club where he made his name as a teenager, which earned him a big-money move to United in 2021.
The 24-year-old has impressed during his sixmonth loan, particularly in the Champions League, where he helped Dortmund reach the final for just the third time in their history.
That he can do so at the site of the Euro 2021 final loss to Italy, where Sancho was criticised for missing a penalty in the shootout, would only make it more sweeter for the winger, who this month was again left out of the England squad.
Sancho joined Dortmund aged just 17 from the Manchester City academy in 2017, a bold move from the teenager at a time when England players rarely left the island.
His move not only foreshadowed a trend of English talent heading abroad, he became a crucial attacking component in a freewheeling Dortmund side.
In four years at the Westfalenstadion, Sancho scored 50 goals and laid on 64 more in 137 games. He won the 2021 German Cup shortly before joining United for a fee of €85 million (RM510m).
At Old Trafford, Sancho scored just 12 times in 82 appearances. He fell out with manager Erik Ten Hag earlier this season and came back to Dortmund in January having not played football since September.
Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl, who was crucial in bringing Sancho back to the club, said the Englishman showed his resolve during the testing time.
“It was not an easy situation in January to bring Jadon to Dortmund,” Kehl said yesterday.
“But we knew Jadon had the skills to perform, to be decisive and to bring us to another level.
“Jadon is such a great person, a great player, and the experience he had in Manchester helped him to perform now.
“He will be very important for us on Saturday. He will show the world that Jadon Sancho is really back.”
Only one of Sancho’s 23 England caps came after that Wembley final loss to Italy – the same summer as he moved to
United.
His uptick in form did not earn him a return to Gareth Southgate’s extended, 33-man training squad for the Euros, which kickoff when home side Germany face Scotland in
Munich on June 14.
Dortmund captain Emre Can said Sancho was “first-class”, explaining “he didn’t play for six months so it’s not easy to come back and perform like this.”
Can, who was left out of the Germany Euros squad, said the snub would motivate both players on Saturday.
“Of course he’s not happy about it. I’m not in the Germany squad and I’m not happy about it.
“It gives you the extra motivation to show the coaches and national teams that we deserve to be there, and that’s what we will try
to do on Saturday.”