Jadon Sancho: Who is Borussia Dortmund's new signing?
September 1, 2017
Following his deadline day move, 17-year-old Jadon Sancho has become Borussia Dortmund's first ever English player. DW profiles the young forward who believes he can develop further with the Black and Yellows.
Image: BVB/Twitter
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Ousmane Dembele may have left Borussia Dortmund after just one season but more young talents are already stepping up to take his place.
Christian Pulisic doesn’t turn 19 until later this month but is already a first-team regular while new signing Dan-Axel Zagadou, who has only just turned 18 himself, has already impressed in Dortmund’s first two league games.
And Dembelé’s no.7 shirt also has a new owner - 17-year-old Jadon Sancho is the latest addition to the Dortmund set-up after completing a seven-million-euro transfer from Manchester City.
Ousmane Dembele's departure to Barcelona has opened the door for SanchoImage: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Fernandez
Who is Jadon Sancho?
Born in London, Sancho joined Watford’s academy aged 7 before moving to Manchester City in 2015. He quickly became a key member of the side which reached the FA Youth Cup Final in 2016 and 2017, scoring 15 goals in 19 starts for City's under-18s before adding another five goals for the under-21s.
“Sancho operates on the left-hand side,” wrote the "Manchester Evening News." “He’s a slick, quick winger able to retain ball control at high speed and in uncomfortable spaces.”
He demonstrated those qualities at the European Under-17 Championships in Croatia this summer, where he helped England reach the final with five goals and five assists, performances which saw him named player of the tournament – an award previously won by the likes of Toni Kroos, Cesc Fabregas and Wayne Rooney.
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola hasn't managed to give many opportunities to academy graduates. Image: Reuters/K. Pfaffenbach
Lack of opportunity
But Sancho thought his opportunities would be limited in east Manchester. Despite billions of pounds of investment in academy facilities since the club’s takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, City have struggled to produce any homegrown first-team regulars. Striker Kelechi Iheanacho made 29 competitive appearances last season but, despite scoring seven goals, the 20-year-old was sold to Leicester City.
Sancho appears convinced that he can develop better in Dortmund, saying in a statement that “the time is right for a new challenge where I can start to fulfil my potential.”
Dortmund’s scouting department, led by influential head scout Sven Mislintat, has a record of unearthing some of the brightest talents in European football. Dembele, Pulisic and Zagadou followed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Shinji Kagawa and Robert Lewandowski, while Dortmund also have a good record for identifying promising German talents such as midfielders Julian Weigl, Mahmoud Dahoud and forward Maximillian Philipp. It’s a record that doesn’t go unnoticed.
“I made a conscious decision to join BVB because it’s a huge club which always manages to integrate young players into the first team and develop them further at the highest level,” said Zagadou this summer.
Jadon Sancho will have no shortage of competition in Dortmund, but he couldn’t be in a better place for his talent to flourish.
The most expensive Bundesliga transfers
Timo Werner's big money move from RB Leipzig to Chelsea has made the striker the most expensive German player ever. Here's a look back at the priciest moves in Bundesliga transfer history.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
Ousmane Dembele
His transfer to Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund remains the most expensive ever involving a Bundesliga club. Dortmund received €105 million (€118 million) plus further add-ons. Not bad for then 20-year-old, but Dembele hasn't quite made his mark in Spain yet.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Kirchner
Lucas Hernandez
Having secured one French World Cup winner in Benjamin Pavard, Bayern Munich snapped up another early on in 2019. Defender Lucas Hernandez joined the record Bundesliga champions for the start of the 2019/20 season for a hefty €80 million. The fee makes him both Bayern and the Bundesliga's most expensive signing.
Image: Getty Images/G. Bouys
Kevin De Bruyne
The 2015-16 Bundesliga season started with a transfer supernova as well. Wolfsburg's talented playmaker left for Manchester City for a reported €74 million. At the time, no German team had ever earned that much from a player sale. He's now regarded as one of the Premier League's best players.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/M. Rose
Naby Keita
Keita signed with RB Leipzig from Salzburg for €15million, but he only wound up playing two seasons in Germany. Why? Because Liverpool snapped him up ahead of the 2017-18 season for a reported total of €70 million. That's a pretty good profit for the Red Bull machine.
Image: Picture-Alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
Timo Werner
The Germany striker was in heavy demand, with Bayern Munich and Liverpool thought to be his most likely destinations for some time. But Premier League club Chelsea swooped in late to make Werner the most expensive German player of all time, with a fee thought to be €53 million. He has been the main man for RB Leipzig since their promotion to the top flight and leaves a big hole.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
Leroy Sane
He's rumoured to be Bayern Munich's primary target in 2020 but the winger has already been involved in one of the Bundesliga's biggest moves when he moved from Schalke to Manchester City in 2016. The fee for the Germany player was reported to be just north of €50million.
Image: Reuters/L. Smith
Granit Xhaka
Switzerland international Granit Xhaka was a nice little earner for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer of 2017. Having moved to Gladbach from Basel for around €8.5 million in 2012, the Foals sold him on to Arsenal for a reported €45 million. He's had a mixed time in London.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Revierfoto
Julian Draxler
Having joined Wolfsburg from Schalke a year earlier, in the summer of 2016, Julian Draxler decided he didn't want to play there either. He went through the motions for the first half of the season. In January 2017 he got his wish - a move to PSG worth a reported €40 million. It looks to have been a losing proposition for Wolfsburg, as they are thought to have paid €43 million for him.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Steffen
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Are those euro signs in Borussia Dortmund chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke's eyes? Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who had joined the Ruhr club from Shakhtar Donetsk for €27.5 million in 2013, moved on to Manchester United for a reported €42 million euros in the summer of 2016. He's since switched to Arsenal and is currently on loan at Roma.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Mueller
Corentin Tolisso
Bayern Munich broke their own transfer record with the €41.5 million purchase of French midfielder Corentin Tolisso from Lyon in June 2017, making him, at the time, the most expensive player ever to be brought into the Bundesliga.
Image: picture-alliance/Ansa/A. Di Marco
Roberto Firmino
For a short time, Brazilian Roberto Firmino held the record for the biggest sale of a Bundesliga player. In the summer of 2015, Liverpool paid Hoffenheim €41 million for his services. With a Champions League in the bag and a Premier League title almost certain to follow, they've got their money's worth.
Image: picture alliance/GES-Sportfoto
Javi Martinez
Bayern Munich splashed €40 million to acquire Javi Martinez from Athletic Bilbao, but it turned out to be money well spent. Martinez helped the Bavarians win multiple Bundesliga titles, the first of which came as part of a European treble.