Jadon Sancho emulates Messi in game that changes everything

Robin Bairner

• 2 May 2024 06:52 BST
• 4 min read

There might not have been a goal or an assist for Jadon Sancho as Borussia Dortmund beat PSG 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final in Germany, but that was scarcely the point.

Crucially, there was hope. And there was more than, too.

There was profound evidence of the player who Manchester United paid €85 million to sign in 2021.

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Current ETV

Jadon Sancho

AM (RL), M (L)

Dortmund

Jadon Sancho

AM (RL), M (L)

Dortmund

€28.5M

ETV Range

€21.4M - €35.7M

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His value has since slipped to €28.5m amid poor form and exile from the first-team squad, but the Sancho on display on Wednesday was one worth the money Man Utd paid.

Time and again, he tortured PSG left-back Nuno Mendes, who had been doubtful before the game and must have wished he hadn’t passed his fitness test.

After giving the ball away several times early, the on-loan Red Devils star persistently got the better of his marker and proved Dortmund’s chief creative force.

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By half-time, he had TNT Sports pundit Rio Ferdinand, not usually one for statistics, exclaiming that he had completed more dribbles in 45 minutes than he had managed in a single game during his career at Old Trafford.

By the time the match was over, he had completed 13 take-ons, something no one has managed in the Champions League since peak Lionel Messi in 2008.

He should also have had that assist. After driving past Mendes once again, Niklas Fullkrug should have converted his cutback. Instead, the striker who had been so deadly on the opening goal, shot high.

It may yet be a turning point in a tie that Sancho threatened to settle on the night but remains open at 1-0.

Sancho blows his future open

For the 24-year-old, it was a career-changing night.

Despite enjoying something of a rejuvenation at Dortmund, this was a particular high note. This was undoubtedly Sancho at his best – a figure fans have not seen on the field since he left BVB first time around.

There have been hints of it during the loan, but this was the first time he has appeared at his best for 90 minutes.

Suddenly, a future at Man Utd does not seem so fanciful. Yet there is doubt as to whether he wants to go back and even if he could recapture such a level at Old Trafford.

But now a permanent transfer elsewhere certainly seems like a possibility. This version of Sancho is worth taking a punt on.

Dortmund might not be able to afford him, but if this is the level of player who could potentially be bought, there are a handful of clubs whose minds have started to be changed – and PSG might be one of those.