Dortmund surprised by ‘Jadon Sancho madness’

Robin Bairner

• 18 Jan 2024 08:23 GMT
• 2 min read

Borussia Dortmund have been surprised by the frenzy that has gripped the club since Jadon Sancho was re-signed on loan from Manchester United earlier this month.

BVB took advantage of Sancho’s exile from the Premier League giants to complete a six-month deal that will cost them only €3 million in total.

Doubts had been expressed prior to the deal over concerns over Sancho’s professionalism, but these have been swept aside both by comments from the Bundesliga side’s board and also by the player’s on-field performance.

Having been frozen out by manager Erik ten Hag at Man Utd, Sancho wasted little time in sending a message to the Dutchman by chalking up an assist against Darmstadt after only 20 minutes into his return.

On top of this, the player’s attitude towards defensive work showed few of the weaknesses that Man Utd claimed he has as Dortmund cruised to a 3-0 win.

But even beyond Sancho’s impact on the field, he has excited supporters away from it.

Sancho shirt sales going well

Although his loan deal will run just six months, Dortmund have already sold more than 5,000 Sancho shirts, according to Bild, which describes his triumphant return after “Jadon Sancho madness”. This has generated €500,000 of revenue for the club and shirt manufacturer.

To put this figure into context, the German newspaper indicates that this is the total number of shirts some smaller Bundesliga teams will sell over the course of the season.

Sancho, meanwhile, has only been back for a fortnight and is virtually certain to leave in the summer because Dortmund are not in a position to afford a permanent deal.

Dortmund did not expect the return of the 23-year-old to have such an impact.

Man Utd have sent him back to Germany in a bid for his damaged reputation to be rebuilt and to allow his transfer value to bounce back after taking a significant hit under Ten Hag.

Both of these things appear to becoming reality as Dortmund fall in love with Sancho all over again.