Chelsea star made Sancho 'quit on his team'

Cameron Smith

• 12 Jan 2024 20:03 GMT
• 3 min read

Former Newcastle United and England midfielder Kieron Dyer has revealed he foresaw Jadon Sancho’s problems at Manchester United after he was pocketed by Reece James during an academy match for Manchester City.

Sancho, 23, has sealed a return to Borussia Dortmund on loan after a difficult time at Old Trafford.

The ex-England international had a public bust-up with Erik ten Hag in September and after refusing to apologise, Sancho did not feature for Man Utd again before rejoining Dortmund.

The 23-year-old’s troubles at Man Utd included several instances of turning up to training late and Dyer noticed a “red flag” about Sancho during his time in Manchester City’s academy.

The former Newcastle midfielder told TalkSPORT: “He [Sancho] was a wonderkid growing up. He was the talk of everybody in the academies at that time.

“I was coaching and when I watched Man City he was unstoppable. It was the youth team, so the under-18s and he was incredible.

“He was probably 17 years old and everyone wanted him – he could have his pick, he’d just dominate every team.

“They played Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup final and played against Reece James and Reece James got the better of him, which can happen to anyone, but he quit on his team in the Youth Cup final.

“He just mentally went and I kind of had a red flag against him then and thought that’s a bit weird.

“He’s got the world at his feet and alright, he’s had a bad game but he’s quit on his teammates.

“You could see the life had gone out of him, he’d stopped tracking back and sort of given up and was basically mentally gone.”

Jadon Sancho re-joins Borussia Dortmund from Man Utd

Sancho’s uncertain future was resolved when Dortmund moved to re-sign the Englishman on loan in January. According to Dyer, the move could be perfect for Sancho.

He said: “You’ve seen the problems since at Manchester United and I sort of sensed that as a 17 or 18 year old kid and it’s sad because he’s got some talent and some ability.

“I think it’s a good move because if he does do well in Germany then there’s a good chance that when he comes back to Manchester there’s going to be a new manager, which could definitely happen the way that Erik ten Hag and Man Utd are going.

“It could work out well for him.”