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Jadon Sancho's iconic moments for Borussia Dortmund, England and more

Jadon Sancho

As we back him to bounce back from his penalty shootout agony for England, let's take a look at the iconic moments of the brilliant Jadon Sancho.

The tricky winger lit up the Bundesliga with his dizzying runs and skillful ability proving a nightmare for even the toughest of defences. He will now have the chance to replicate his form in the Premier League after signing for Manchester United.

From limited opportunities at Manchester City, to becoming a world class player at Dortmund, Planet Sport takes a look at what has been a hugely promising start to the youngster's career.

England Youth exploits

He may not have made a first-team appearance for Manchester City but it was clear to see very early on that there was something very special about Sancho.

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak earmarked him as a future star as he shone at both academy and England youth level.
It was his success with the England Under-17 side that really singled him out as one to watch.
In 2017, Sancho was called up to the England squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.
In what was a tournament full of promising players, it was Sancho that would come out on top. The competition's third highest goalscorer and England's standout player, Sancho was crowned Player of the Tournament.
England narrowly missed out in the final against Spain but it was largely thanks to Sancho that England had even made the showpiece.
Sancho then went on to be a key member of the squad that would then compete in the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
Sancho played a pivotal role in the group stages, scoring three goals in as many games. Unfortunately for the player, he was recalled by his club and missed out on the closing stages as England went on to be crowned world champions, gaining revenge on Spain in the final.

A change of scenery

After stalling on a new deal at the Etihad, Sancho moved to Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund for a reported fee of £8million.
It looked a high fee for an 18-year-old who hadn't featured at a senior level, but what a bargain it would turn out to be.

It wasn't until a couple of months after his move that Sancho was handed his debut, as a substitute against Eintracht Frankfurt, thus becoming the first Englishman to play in the Bundesliga with Dortmund.

Jadon Sancho in Borussia Dortmund colours

Regular appearances from the bench were to follow for Sancho and it wasn't until January 2018 that he was given his first start for the club. Sancho then really started to make a name for himself as he was given an extended run in the side.
In a dominant display against Bayer Leverkusen, Sancho lit up the Bundesliga for the first time as he pulled the strings in attack, scoring once and assisting another two goals in a 4-0 thumping. The Camberwell-born player had arrived.

Breaking record after record

Following his incredible end to the 2017/18 season, Sancho continued his fine run of form into the following campaign.
Sancho won his first Bundesliga Player of the Month award in October 2018 after registering three goals in as many games, while providing a further assist. During this run, Sancho became the first ever player to be born after the year 2000 to score a brace in a Bundesliga match, as well as being the youngest ever player by Dortmund to do so.

Following this, Sancho went on to break yet another record by becoming the first player born after the year 2000 to score in the Champions League, registering in a 4-0 thumping of Atletico Madrid.

Sancho carried on breaking records, becoming the youngest player to score eight and nine goals in the Bundesliga, the latter record being previously held by German legend Lukas Podolski.

By finishing the campaign with 12 goals and 17 assists, Sancho had also become the youngest ever Dortmund player to have scored at least 10 goals in a single campaign.

Reaping in the awards

Sancho was fast becoming one of the stand-out performers in European soccer.

Following his incredible season with Dortmund, Sancho was included in the 2018/19 Bundesliga Team of the Season. Still only 19, Sancho joined legends of the game including Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski.

As well as being named in the team of the season, Sancho had also finished top of the assist rankings. His final total of 17 assists put him ahead of the likes of Joshua Kimmich and Julian Brandt.

Joining up with the national team

Sancho's exploits in the German league saw him earn his first ever senior call-up to the Three Lions squad. In doing so, Sancho became the first player from the Bundesliga to be called up by England since Owen Hargreaves.

He was now a regular starter at club level, but getting game time in the English national side wasn't going to be easy, with the likes of Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford ahead of him in the pecking order.

Sancho was part of the England squad that finished in third place in the UEFA Nations League, but it wasn't until later that year that Sancho really started to make an impact for his country.
The young midfielder had to wait until September 2019 for his first senior international goal, going on to bag two in a 5-3 victory over Kosovo in a Euro 2020 qualifier.
Sancho proved a nightmare for the Kosovo defence, helping his side come back from conceding early to win the game.
It was Sancho who was the provider for England's third goal, with his cross put in the back of the net by Kosovo's Mergim Vojvoda.
He then put England 4-1 up with his first goal for the Three Lions, coolly finishing off a fine move. His second England goal came only moments later as he was in the right place to tap the ball into an open net.

First taste of silverware

Following his success in the season prior, it was paramount that Sancho continued this form into the next season if he wanted to prove himself as one of the best players in the world.

Sancho was provided with the perfect opportunity to do so in the first game of the 2019/20 season with a DFL-Supercup final tie against Bayern Munich. The Bavarians had narrowly beaten Dortmund to the league title only months prior, which had Dortmund gunning for revenge.

The Supercup final provided Sancho with the platform to showcase his ability on the grand stage and he did just that with a scintillating display on the right as Dortmund recorded a 2-0 victory.
His perfect ball control and dizzying skills helped set up Paco Alcacer for the first goal before he powered him a shot to double the advantage after a lung-busting run from half-way.
It gave Dortmund their first DFL-Supercup win since 2014 and Sancho his first piece of domestic silverware.

Individual honours

Sancho was rapidly becoming not only one of the best youngsters in the world, but also one of the most effective forwards, rivalling Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the goals plus assists leaderboards.

These figures didn't go unnoticed as Sancho was awarded Goal's NXGN award for 2019. Coming up against 50 other players, Sancho was voted the best player under the age of 19.
The following year, Sancho would be recognised as one of the brightest young prospects once again, this time by the coveted Golden Boy rankings. The Golden Boy award is given by sports journalists each year to the most impressive player under the age of 21.

Despite not actually winning the award in 2020, Sancho was placed a very respectable fourth, behind only Erling Haaland, Ansu Fati and Alphonso Davies.

Penalty heartbreak for England

Sancho suffered what was probably his first major career setback at Euro 2020, when he missed a penalty for England in the final shootout against Italy.

The winger had played only a small part for the Three Lions during the tournament. Despite strong media pressure to start him in games, he was restricted to a few minutes in the final group game against Czech Republic and a start in the quarter-final against Ukraine.

Southgate again resisted the temptation to play him in the final against Italy, only throwing him on in the final seconds of extra-time as one of his preferred penalty takers.

Sadly for England, Sancho was unable to convert his kick, with Gianluigi Donnarumma diving to his left to save. England went on to lose.

Manchester move

Man United confirmed the signing of Sancho on July 23, 2021 for £73million. Sancho scored 50 goals and made 64 assists during his four year stay at Dortmund.
In the summer of 2020, United were unable to secure the signature of Sancho but they refused to miss out again the following year.
"I'll always be grateful to Dortmund for giving me the opportunity to play first team football, although I always knew that I would return to England one day," Sancho said.

"The chance to join Manchester United is a dream come true and I just cannot wait to perform in the Premier League. This is a young and exciting squad and I know, together, we can develop into something special to bring the success that the fans deserve.
"I am looking forward to working with the Manager and his coaching team to further develop my game."

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