CITY Sancho: ‘It’s time for new challenge’
JADON Sancho insists he had to join Borussia Dortmund to fulfil his potential.
The 17-year-old was one of the brightest prospects at City – but sealed an £8m deadline move to the German club in a bid to secure first-team football.
Sancho was so highly-regarded at the Etihad that even City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak insisted his path to Pep Guardiola’s first team would not be blocked by marquee signings.
But the teenager’s own misgivings about the speed of his progress prompted him to seek a move this summer – despite seeing Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz promoted to the senior squad.
In a farewell message on Twitter he thanked City for his development, but insisted he had to go.
“It’s been an eventful two-and-a-half years with many special moments,” he said. “It was a difficult decision, but the time is right for a new challenge where I can start to fulfil my potential.
“I want to thank everyone at Manchester City, the coaches and staff that have contributed to my development, my team-mates and of course the awesome Manchester City fans who have always supported me. “I move with great memories.” Al Mubarak had emphasised City’s commitment to nurturing Sancho’s development in his end-of-season address.
He said: “You look at Sancho, you look at Phil Foden, you look at Brahim Diaz, just to name a few. These are players that are extremely talented.
“These are players who have a very good chance of making it to the first team.
“And these are players that if you ask Pep today he will tell you they can and will be first-team players at Manchester City. There is a balance that you have to strike. This is where, we as an organisation, everybody involved here, has to sit down and make the best decision.
“If the end result is to get Sancho to be a starter at Manchester City, there is a balance that needs to be struck.
“There will be different paths but the end result is how are we going to get these young men to be part of our first team.”
Foden and Diaz are part of Guardiola’s first-team squad this season, although their opportunities will be limited. The City manager has spent £220m on new recruits this summer and has been clear about the difficulty in integrating academy players.
“I would like to (use them) but the second teams in Spain - Barcelona, Madrid they are playing in front of 40,000 people and every weekend is a second league in Germany, Spain Italy it is so tough, so demanding,” he said.
“That is the best way to improve, not training with the first team sometimes. Here, they don’t compete. They shake hands but they have to play at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge.”