All eyes on Sancho against Monaco tie

Dortmund (Germany), Oct. 2: Jadon Sancho hopes his reputation for being a “weapon” off the bench for Borussia Dortmund will win the England Under-19 international a starting berth against Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old wants a place in Lucien Favre’s lineup after once more proving his worth on Saturday, when he helped seal a 4-2 comeback Bundesliga win at Bayer Leverkusen with two devastating assists.

He set up Marco Reus for the equaliser at the Bay Arena a minute after coming on, then sent Paco Alcacer away on a counterattack for the second of the Spaniard's two late goals as Dortmund went top of the table.

He has appeared as a substitute in each of Dortmund's six Bundesliga outings this season, but he did start in their opening Champions League game, when they won 1-0 at Club Brugge to get off to the perfect start in Group ‘A’.

Sancho now craves a regular starting berth after providing six assists as well as one goal in the Bundesliga, although he admits he is at his best running at tiring defences as a substitute.

Having seen what the English teenager can do, Dortmund announced on Tuesday that Sancho has signed a two-year extension to his contract, until 2022.

His tally of six Bundesliga assists makes him the top goal provider in all of Europe’s top five leagues so far this season.

Sancho was still just 17 when he opted to try his luck in the Bundesliga after being omitted from City's pre-season tour in July 2017, and Pep Guardiola's loss has been Dortmund's gain.

Dan Micciche, Sancho’s former England Under-16 coach, compared the left winger to a young version of Brazil superstar Neymar.

“He could be our Neymartype player — in terms of being unpredictable,” Micciche told The Guardian last month.

“He’s flamboyant, entertaining to watch,” he added.