On Thursday afternoon, it was confirmed that after two and a half years away, Jadon Sancho would return to Borussia Dortmund on loan until the end of the season.
For many Borussia Dortmund fans, this was a homecoming that tugged on the heartstrings, as memories came flooding back of the Englishman’s time at Westfalenstadion. In 137 appearances for Die Schwarzgelben, Sancho was able to register 50 goals and 64 assists, as he effortlessly lit up the Bundesliga on a weekly basis.
However, this is not the same Sancho that is returning to Borussia Dortmund, and this is not the same Borussia Dortmund that Sancho is returning to. Therefore, there is certainly a call for concern regarding whether this deal will be beneficial for both parties.
Current problems for Dortmund that could affect this deal
Firstly, when Sancho burst onto the scene at the Westfalenstadion, BVB were looking to challenge Bayern Munich for the Meisterschale. Despite featuring 12 times for the club the year prior, it was the 2018/19 season that saw Sancho show the Bundesliga what he was capable of.
With Marco Reus enjoying his third-best season of his career with 28 goal contributions and a clinical Paco Alcácer spearheading Dortmund’s attack at the beginning of the campaign, Sancho was able to exhibit his true quality as Dortmund finished two points behind Bayern in the title race. Then six months later, Erling Haaland arrived from RB Salzburg to offer Sancho a truly relentless striker to work off.
The two became unplayable at times, and while Dortmund failed to maintain their challenge to the Rekordmeister, Sancho and Haaland became a force to be reckoned with. However, with Reus’ game time now dwindling as he reaches the twilight of his remarkable career, there is no other lethal striker that Sancho has to work with.
While Niclas Füllkrug may be clinical inside the box, he is no Haaland, and often at times this season, Dortmund have had to find answers through individual quality, and whether this is a burden that Sancho will be able to carry is unknown. This becomes even more of an issue after remembering the time the 23-year-old has spent away from the club.
In the Premier League, Sancho was unable to rekindle the type of form that made him so sought after amongst Europe’s finest sides, and after being ostracised from the Manchester United squad by head coach Erik ten Hag, there is a potential issue regarding Sancho’s attitude and mentality. This is something that could become apparent if he is the player that Edin Terzić relies upon to single-handedly solve Dortmund’s attacking issues.
If he is unable to quickly adapt to life back in the Bundesliga, then how he reacts will be instrumental in deciding whether this deal works out for Dortmund and himself. Regardless, there are further issues that could see this deal become disastrous for Dortmund.
Issues that could become more apparent in the future
It is no secret that they are far off the title picture, sitting in fifth place, 15 points away from Bayer Leverkusen in pole position. A reason for this is that Dortmund’s attacking line has been reliant on Julian Brandt to create a moment of magic, or in recent weeks, a fellow Englishman by the name of Jamie Bynoe-Gittens.
If Sancho’s return to Dortmund sees him take minutes away from Bynoe-Gittens, who has been extraordinary at times for BVB, then fans could start to wonder why this loan was needed in the first place. As well as this, with Youssoufa Moukoko struggling for any type of game time, Sancho will only push him further down the pecking order, leaving another Dortmund youngster to fall by the wayside – an issue that has plagued the club for far too long now.
As they sign Sancho to solve a problem for Manchester United, Dortmund still have far too many problems of their own that they are failing to deal with. Karim Adeyemi, Donyell Malen, and Moukoko have been unable to perform on a consistent basis during their time at the club, and rather than using the second half of the Bundesliga season to find a way to get them to gel, they are leaving them to sit on the bench.
It just seems like a bizarre strategy for a club that used to be so forward-thinking. It is an issue that will not disappear in the summer when Sancho leaves, and they will need to find a solution to their inconsistencies then, even if Sancho’s loan proves to be effective.
While it would be amazing to see Sancho return to the form he originally had at Dortmund, it is hard to see how this deal will be able to do that, and even if it does, it leaves other issues for Dortmund to deal with in the future. It is unlikely that if Sancho re-discovers his form, BVB will be able to afford him on a permanent deal, leaving one to think that this really could be catastrophic for Dortmund.
GGFN | Will Shopland
