Sport
Few would have predicted that Borussia Dortmund would make a run to this season’s Champions League final – and even fewer would have called that Jadon Sancho would be an important part of their team. After all, it was only four months ago that the winger was training on his own having been exiled from the Manchester United squad.
Sancho has been revitalised since returning to Dortmund on loan. While his record of three goals and two assists in 20 games might be well below the standard he set for himself during his first spell with the Black and Yellows, the 24-year-old looks like his old self. Sancho could be Dortmund’s match-winner this weekend.
Real Madrid enter Saturday’s match at Wembley as firm favourites. Carlo Ancelotti’s team strolled to the Spanish title this season and have made the Champions League final without losing a single game in the competition. By eliminating Manchester City and Bayern Munich, Los Blancos flexed their muscle.
Much of the build-up to Saturday’s game will focus on Jude Bellingham. The England international is arguably the best player in the world at this moment in time and could lift the Champions League trophy for the first time in his career with a victory over his former club. Bellingham is still a Borussia Dortmund icon.
In Sancho, though, Dortmund have their own Englishman with the ability to decide a match. It’s likely the Bundesliga side will have to sit deep at Wembley and hit Real Madrid on the break – and that’s where Sancho could come into his own due to his dribbling skills. He could be the one to crack open the Real Madrid defence.
Paris Saint-Germain got a taste of just how devastating Sancho can be when they were knocked out of the Champions League semi-finals by Dortmund. The 24-year-old gave Nuno Mendes all kinds of problems down the wing and was the standout performer on the pitch that night. It served as a reminder of Sancho’s quality.
“I just take it game by game and I hope [my form] carries on,” said Sancho when asked about his Dortmund form. “I came here at 17 and they gave me the opportunity to play my professional football. I am delighted with all the staff and players that have welcomed me back. I really don’t know [if I am going to stay]. I am just focused on the present right now.”
Of course, Sancho wasn’t named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024 and so the winger will watch this summer’s tournament from home no matter what happens in Saturday’s Champions League final. However, Sancho could still make a statement on his international future by performing well.
While Sancho will miss Euro 2024, Nations League fixtures are just around the corner with World Cup qualifiers starting next year. It won’t be long until the 2026 World Cup itself is here either. At 24, there is still plenty time for Sancho to become an important figure for the Three Lions. It’s not impossible that he could rescue his international career.
It’s difficult, however, to envisage Sancho getting back on track at Manchester United. For whatever reason, Old Trafford wasn’t a healthy environment for the winger. In three seasons at United, Sancho was never able to replicate the sort of form that made him so special for Dortmund in the first place.
Dortmund would be wise to make Sancho’s loan move permanent this summer, and Sancho would be wise to accept that his Premier League career is over – at least for the time being. Saturday’s Champions League final is another opportunity for him to prove he has moved on from the tumult of Manchester United.
