Jadon Sancho finally gets his anticipated move or let’s put it Manchester United finally get their man. For Borussia Dortmund, it is another good business as usual for a player they bought for less than £10m in the summer of 2017.
Though, Maybe United might feel they would have had better luck last season, had Sancho be in their squad but in the same vein, they should know, he might have had issues given how slow he started last season with the German club, and for how much they would have bought him.
Despite his slow start to the 2020-21 season, the English winger managed to recovery during the season and scored eight BundesLiga goals plus another 11 assists in 24 starts.
He was also handy as Dortmund earned a Champions League spot with a late run of impressive results towards the ending of the the German league last season. He also did pretty well in the Champions League before they were eliminated by his former side, Manchester City in the quarters.
He also starred in the final of the DFB Pokal, scoring twice and setting up another, as Borussia Dortmund won the trophy with a 4-1 thumping of RB Leipzig in Berlin.
While he shone for Dortmund, it was a different fate for Manchester United, as a player of Sancho’s like was really missed last season especially when the likes of Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood did not pick up from where they left the 2019-20 season.
They were well below par and lots of opportunities were missed even if they ended second in the league, they will know they would have done better, with the 21 year old around.
Despite impressing stat wise last season, Marcus Rashford missed so many opportunities that would have changed the fate of the club ending last season trophy-less.
The highlight of these misses came in the final of the Europa League, where in the end, United eventually lost in the shootout to Sevilla.
With this in mind, they will also not forget Dortmund’s demands last season, and comparing that to the £72.6m they paid this summer, they will also give credits for their patience, given they indirectly wait to see if Sancho will maintain consistency.
What will Sancho bring into the team ?
Since Portuguese winger, Nani, Manchester United have arguably not have any natural winger on their books and every manager had tried to maneuver, playing Midfielders and attackers in these positions.
Fast, skillful, good vision and a good finisher at just 21 years of age, all for £72.6m in the current market, the Old Trafford club could not have struck a better deal for the ex Manchester City man.
In February this year, Sancho becomes the youngest player ever to reach 35 goals and 50 assists in the BundesLiga history. He has made over 150 appearances at senior level and has been involved in over 110 goals, playing in a top league and representing the Three Lions, just the profile you will want for a young talent.
With Bruno Fernandes in the midfield, picking out Sancho on the wings will be devastating for oppositions, and Manchester United will be hopeful, Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial step up, as Marcus Rashford is expected to miss the start to the season after his surgery.
Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane is also on United’s radar, and a deal is likely to be strucked for the Frenchman to move to the theater of dreams, Ole Gunner Solskjær side will be looking to go one better in the league this term.
They also continue contract talks with Paul Pogba, who has a year left on his current agreement. Tying Pogba down on another terms will be another boost for United, as they look for their first league title post Ferguson era.
Meanwhile United will also be hopeful that Jadon Sancho recovers in time from the heartache of the European Championship final, where alongside Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka missed from the spot, as England lost to Champions, Italy.
For Jadon Sancho, he is back home and with the club he longs to plan for, where he will play alongside his friend Marcus Rashford, and will have more chances of being involved with the internationals.
For Borussia Dortmund, it is another player sold for huge profit with replacement readied as they have more than enough young talented players to replace the star, who joined as a boy just four summers ago.
Manchester City are also not without gain in the transaction as they net a huge £11.2 million windfall from Jadon Sancho’s sale, for the sell-on clause inserted in the deal that took Sancho to Germany in 2017.
Afolabi Kehinde Hassan
