Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho is in Germany on loan at Borussia Dortmund, returning to his former club earlier this month.
It was not in Manchester United’s plans at the start of the season to send Jadon Sancho out on loan.
The club’s hand was effectively forced by Sancho’s early-September fallout with manager Erik ten Hag, and subsequent isolation from the first team.
United loaned him to Dortmund at the start of January, to get him out of Carrington, and for him to get playing again, to increase his value, ahead of a possible summer sale.
Jadon Sancho has revealed that Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus made an approach to him in pre-season to try and tempt him to return.
This came when United faced Dortmund in pre-season in Las Vegas, during the club’s tour of the USA, with Sancho speaking with Reus after the game.
Goal Germany reports via Dortmund club media that Sancho has admitted Reus’ approach was even spotted on video.
Sancho is quoted: “There’s a video clip from Las Vegas where he told me to go back to Dortmund. He told me: ‘Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here.’”
This was just over a month ago Sancho’s row with Erik ten Hag, which effectively ended his season at Old Trafford – partly due to his own decision not to apologise to his boss.
You wonder, at what point, the idea of a return to Dortmund began seriously popping into Sancho’s head.
Was it just something he started taking seriously when assessing his options in December?
Or was he already longing for Germany from the moment he had that conversation with Reus and a brief reunion with his former side?
If so, was his decision to refuse to apologise to Ten Hag, part of a strategy to engineer a Dortmund return?
These are questions which it is fair to ask, with Manchester United leaving high and dry by the highly paid winger, who did not play a single minute alongside marquee striker signing Rasmus Hojlund.