Dortmund send Sancho warning that proves Ten Hag was right

Robin Bairner

• 23 Feb 2024 00:23 CST
• 2 min read

Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho as been told by Borussia Dortmund that he needs to buck up his ideas, but head coach Edin Terzic says the England winger is happier being back in Germany.

Sancho completed a loan move back to his former club during the January transfer window, but after making a promising start with BVB, he has faded in recent performances.

He was picked to start Tuesday’s Champions League encounter against PSV, but was hauled off midway through the second half of the 1-1 draw, having struggled to contribute anything.

“With Jadon it's always good to have him around,” Terzic told TNT Sports. “Inside the team, inside the group and also inside the squad on a matchday, because you know Jadon is capable of making special things happen.

“He didn't have his best performance today and he knows that he's able to play better football than today. And this is what we're going to work on, to get him back on this level every three days when needed. But he's full of joy, we are really happy and pleased that he's around.”

Sancho failed to offer a shot or a key pass during the hour-plus he spent on the field, while he also only won two of his seven duels and failed to provoke a foul. It was an appearance FootballCritic gave a score of 5.6 – the second poorest of the night.

The 23-year-old has now enjoyed four starts during his loan at Dortmund from Man Utd but has failed to generate a goal or an assist in any of these, although he did win a penalty against Koln that was subsequently scored.

Sancho seeking his best level

Still, it is not the Sancho that Dortmund so desperately hoped might fire them towards the top of the Bundesliga once more.

During his last season at the club, the 2020/21 campaign, he scored 16 and assisted 20 in 38 appearances.

Sancho was unable to rediscover his best form at Manchester United and after being dropped by Erik ten Hag, the pair publicly fell out in September.

The winger was exiled from the first team until he issued a public apology for his behaviour, but this never came, leading to him being shipped back to Dortmund for the final weeks of the season.

It was a move that came at significant expense for the Bundesliga side, who could not have expected to see the best version of Sancho but hoped that he might prove the difference in the big games. As the PSV match showed, he is not ready for that yet.