Sterling tips Sancho to reach the very top
CITY star Raheem Sterling has revealed when he first knew that Jadon Sancho was set for ‘big things’ and has heaped praise on his former team-mate, calling him a ‘great talent.’
Eyebrows were raised in 2017 when the highly-rated Sancho departed City for Borussia Dortmund but it was a risk that has paid off ten-fold for the rapid winger.
The 18-year-old has been a vital part of Dortmund’s first title challenge in years by contributing nine goals and 17 assists to the cause, the latest being a clever pass to set up a 92nd-minute winner against Hertha Berlin to keep them level on points with Bayern Munich at the top.
Sancho has been a trailblazer, with several young English players following him to Germany, and his performances have earned him his first three England caps. Few could have predicted Sancho’s meteoric rise this season, but Sterling can pinpoint the moment when he knew Sancho was destined for the top.
“First day I’d seen him training with us, I was really happy to see such a talent,” Sterling told Sport360.
“I always knew he’d become the player he has, for sure. From minute one. I was playing right back against him one day in pre-season training and he spun me back and I nearly did my back in. He’s a great talent.”
Sterling and Sancho were briefly together at City and now find themselves teammates once again at international level, and Sterling has shared how, as a senior member of the England squad, he plans to advise his young prodigy. “Off the field he is a top lad, and that’s the one thing I try to correct him on, because he’s a great person, just try to help him with advice. But on the field, be as arrogant as you want. “On the field you don’t need to be levelheaded. For me, he just needs to keep doing what he’s doing and think the best of his ability because that ability can take him all the way to the top.” Raheem Sterling on Jadon Sancho