Man United transfer target Sancho continues impressive return to form

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:55 BST
• 2 min read

Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho continued his impressive return to form on Saturday with a second-half goal to put his side ahead against Augsburg. 

The Bundesliga giants haven’t had an enjoyable campaign to date, with just 10 wins in 19 games. 

Much of that has been down to Sancho’s own form, with just four assists and zero goals in his first nine games of the season. 

However, the England international has looked replenished since the turn of the year and has quickly returned to the kind of form that once attracted the interest of Manchester United. 

A return to the old Sancho 

Dortmund fans would have been bouncing around their living rooms on Saturday when a lofted through ball from Raphael Guerreiro just after the hour mark set Sancho off on a characteristic sprint down the left flank. Having beaten the offside trap, the England talent then sprinted into the Augsburg box and calmly curled the ball inside the right post. 

Of course, it won’t just be Dortmund fans that enjoyed the goal – the club’s interim head coach Edin Terzic and his bosses will be delighted too. Since an unexpected stand-out performance against Eintracht Braunschweig in the German Cup in late December, Sancho has scored four goals and provided a further five assists in just seven games. 

Unfortunately, Dortmund haven’t been able to keep up with their in-form forward, having lost two and drawn a further game in that stretch, but there’s little doubt that Sancho is back to his best and once again dominating games in the Bundesliga each and every week. 

Is a move to Old Trafford still on the cards?

This return to form for Sancho will undoubtedly then drum the rumour mill back into action as pundits, journalists and club officials begin to wonder whether Man United should make another effort to sign the former Manchester City youth graduate in the summer. 

Fortunately for the Premier League giants, any pursuit of Sancho at the end of the summer may prove to be much easier than their failed attempts in 2020. 

Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke recently spoke about the financial pressure the club had come under this season due to missing 80,000 paying spectators at their famous stadium at every home game.

On top of that, Dortmund’s poor form in the German top flight could lead to them finishing outside the Champions League qualification spots. Which may inevitably lead to some player sales may be inevitable at the end of the season. 

Watzke was quick to point out that it wouldn’t jeopardize the club’s existence “but it forces you to take a step back, maybe two. Because when the income from the Champions League is no longer there, you can no longer afford a squad of the size and quality we have. Then you have to use the red pencil.“