MANCHESTER UNITED FORWARD JADON SANCHO JOINS BORUSSIA DORTMUND ON LOAN UNTIL END OF THE SEASON
Manchester United forward Jadon Sancho has rejoined German side Borussia Dortmund on a six-month loan, the team announced on Thursday. Sancho spent five years at Dortmund from 2017 to 2021, before completing his £73 million move to Manchester United on 1 July 2021.
The 23-year-old was back on social media on Wednesday for the first time in months and with his move back to the black and yellow inching closer, Sancho liked a few report pages that linked him to Dortmund and even changed his profile on Instagram to his foot in Dortmund colors. Sancho completed his medicals late Thursday night and was unveiled by the club on its social media pages hours later.
The England international had been sidelined at Manchester United due to a ‘disciplinary’ issue in September after a fallout with manager Erik ten Hag and hasn’t featured for United in more than four months. Sancho was not only sent to practice with the reserves until an apology from the Camberwell-born forward was forthcoming but was also banned from interacting with the rest of the first team squad. He was also banned from eating in the team’s cafeteria.
Speaking to Borussia Dortmund media after the signing, Sancho said: “When I walked into the dressing room today, it felt like coming home. I know the club inside out, I’ve always been very close to the fans here and I’ve never lost contact with the people in charge. I can’t wait to see my teammates again, play football with a smile on my face, get assists, score goals and help the club qualify for the Champions League.”
Sancho contributed an impressive 114 goal involvements in 137 games for Borussia Dortmund during his first stint with the club
“Jadon is an absolute difference maker,” said BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl. “I’m looking forward to seeing him in Black and Yellow again soon. He knows this city, Signal Iduna Park, our fans, our club. Even though he hasn’t played any competitive games in recent months, we’re sure that he’ll quickly settle back in with us, find his best form and help us achieve our season objectives with his qualities.”
Sancho was congratulated on his move to Dortmund by many of his friends on social media including Real Madrid duo Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr, Bayern fullback Alphonso Davies, Paris Saint-Germain fullback Achraf Hakimi, former United forward Jesse Lingard and Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson.
Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzić, who won the DFB Pokal in 2021 as an interim manager with Sancho on the team, spoke to the media on Friday and didn’t rule out Sancho making his second debut for Dortmund on Saturday against bottom of the table SV Darmstadt 98.
“We are happy that Jadon [Sancho] is finally with us,” said Terzić. “He had a lot of fun on the training pitch. He is healthy, he has trained a lot in the last few weeks. We will use the [training] session today and see how far he is.”
Dortmund were stopped short of clinching the Bundesliga title for the first time in 11 years last season, and have struggled in the league so far this year. The club sits in fifth place, 15 points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who are enjoying a stellar year. Dortmund also sit a huge six points behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig and would need to climb into that top four to clinch Champions League football next season.
Sporting director Sebastian Kehl told reporters on Friday that it wasn’t an easy task to bring Sancho back to the club, and said although the move happened fairly quickly, it took more than a few days to make it happen. “It was not easy to bring Sancho back, it took many days,” said Kehl.
“You can see the fire in his eyes. Jadon is really happy to be able to play football again. We’ll do everything we can to get him back to his highest level as quickly as possible.”
Borussia Dortmund also signed Dutch left back Ian Maatsen on a six-month loan deal from Chelsea, the team confirmed on Friday morning.
Maatsen said about the move in a short statement, “Borussia Dortmund tried hard to sign me. I have been following BVB and its fans for a long time, and was even at the Champions League game in Manchester in the autumn of 2022 and saw the team live on the pitch.”
“I’m very happy that it’s now a loan that has worked out. I promise I will give everything for the team’s success and I’m really looking forward to the yellow wall.”
The 21-year-old has made 15 first-team appearances for Chelsea this season but is set to continue his development with the European giants in Germany. Maatsen joined Chelsea in 2018 from PSV Eindhoven and has had multiple stints in England prior to this move to the Bundesliga including loan periods away at Charlton Athletic, Coventry City, and most recently at Burnley.
Kehl said in a statement about Maatsen: “Because of our current squad situation, we decided to act on the left-back position this winter. Ian fits our profile with his strengths. He has a lot of pace, a strong left foot and can play various positions.”
The 43-year-old sporting director also confirmed that the club did not include an ‘option to buy’ clause in both Sancho and Maatsen loan deals. This means Dortmund have no obligation to make any of the moves permanent at fixed prices but the club will have the freedom to assess all options at season’s end. Maatsen signed a two-year contract extension with Chelsea this month and is now tied down to the London side until June 30, 2026.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Ardfern. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.