Sancho: Move away was so tough
Winger’s decision to quit Manchester City for Germany is now paying off, writes John Percy
Jadon Sancho is England’s latest teenage prospect who still lives with his father and is at such an embryonic stage in his career that he considers Ronaldinho as one of his childhood heroes. The Borussia Dortmund winger has already been hailed as one of the most exciting players in Europe and will become the first player born this millennium to represent England if he faces Croatia tomorrow or Spain on Monday.
Sancho does not turn 19 until March, and it has been a capricious but rewarding route to Gareth Southgate’s senior squad for the Londoner, who is clearly a player in a hurry. After first leaving Watford and then rejecting a new £30,000-a-week contract at Manchester City last year, he is already making history in Dortmund, even if there are some teething problems with his new life.
“Moving away from home was the biggest challenge. Leaving my mum and my sisters behind, I miss them a lot. But I wanted to do what was best for me, and that was what I did,” he says. “It was very tough. But if you really believe in yourself, you have to do what’s best for you. I’m now with my dad in Germany in an apartment. Not everyone is comfortable moving from home. If you’re ready to play abroad and you believe in yourself, why not?”
Believing in yourself was a mantra frequently repeated by Sancho when he faced the media this week for the first time since his surprise call-up.
He had just finished training at Dortmund when he was given the news and there is a genuine buzz around the winger, particularly since the turn of the year.
He wears the Dortmund No7 shirt vacated by Ousmane Dembele and is already being spoken of as a future £100 million signing, possibly in a return to the Premier League. His decision to leave City, ahead of the season in which Pep Guardiola’s side won the title, is one subject that is out of bounds and he declined to expand on his exit.
Sancho would have been the highest-paid academy player in City history, but instead he signed for Dortmund in a deal worth up to £10million, convinced he would earn more game-time in a different country. It has already proved a shrewd move. Though he has played only 214 minutes in the Bundesliga, he has six assists in seven appearances – more than anyone else in Europe’s top five leagues. In April, Sancho became the youngest Englishman to score in the Bundesliga when he netted in a 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.
“I’m happy to be a part of Dortmund,” he says. “I have to say thank you to the manager [Lucien Favre] for playing me and trusting me. It’s a noisy stadium and it’s not every day you get to play in front of 80,000 people. I’m just grateful. At first, I was nervous when I made my debut, but now I’m getting used to it. I was kind of surprised when they offered the No7 shirt to me, but I realised: ‘I believe in myself, so why not?’”
Sancho is now feeling more at home in western Germany, though his mastery of the language is still in its early stages. Christian Pulisic, the United States international and a Dortmund team-mate, has been a big influence. “He is another young guy, and I learn from him,” Sancho says. “His confidence in taking on players, whether there are four or five guys around him. He tells me to do my thing. ‘That’s why you’re here, you’re Jadon Sancho’. Those guys make me more grounded.”
Sancho’s emergence has seen him bypass Aidy Boothroyd’s Under-21s to the senior squad, with Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland making a recent trip to watch him at Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion.
Southgate admires Sancho for his career choices and “bravery”, also pointing to his two Champions League starts as proof of his progress. The England manager has insisted Sancho was always going to be selected for these two games, despite injuries to Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard.
“Gareth thinks I’ve played well in the Bundesliga. He’s told me to keep up the hard work,” Sancho says. “I was still surprised about the call-up as I’m so young and still have a lot to learn. I’m just grateful he’s seen my progress.
“Playing against Croatia would be a dream come true. I can’t think of anything better. Playing in an empty stadium won’t faze me at all. I’m playing for my country. That’s the main focus for me.”