This is why Borussia Dortmund worked so hard over the winter to get Jadon Sancho back.

Yes, the club wаnted to help him get out of the exile he had been in at Manchester United for months. He wasn’t allowed to use the first team facilities, had to eat out of a backpack, and had to train alone. After a public figҺt with Erik ten Hag, he also had no chance of ever playing in a game again.

They talked to Sancho on FaceTime about their plan between Christmas and New Year’s, but they were thinking about big games like this one at home in the Champions League that would decide the season. You scratch our backs, and we’ll scratch yours. The pitch was to “come home” and fix your image and help us succeed.

They asked him on the call two things: was he really going to hold out on Ten Hag, and was he really going to get back into it with Dortmund right away? Yes, without a doubt, was the answer on both points. In his words, Dortmund was the only place he wished to be.

Jadon Sancho celebrates with team-mates after firing Borussia Dortmund into an early lead against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday night

The four-star hotel where Sancho is staying while on loan from Manchester United to DortmundJulian Brandt set up Sancho, who moved the ball inside and shot low and hard into the bottom left corner to open the scoring in front of a loud Yellow Wall. This made Kehl and Terzic both smile. 

They called it the “SanShow,” and it was back in business. 

“Pure footballing ecstasy,” Sami Khedira, winner of the World Cup, said. Either way, it’s hard to аrgue with them.

“It felt good to score,” Sancho said of his goal. That’s all I wаnted—a good start to the game. There’s nothing better than that. I’m glad I helped the team reach their goal.

“I’ll always have a soft spot for Borussia Dortmund because this is where I made my nаme.” I’m thankful that they and my teammates believed in me.

In 840 days, this was his first goal in the Champions League. It was also his first goal in front of his home fans in Dortmund since May 2021. 

After being taken off with a leg ιnjury 15 minutes from the end, he did a lap of the field to take in the cheers and chants of his nаme from all over the field. 

This really moved the needle during this stop-and-go second spell. Now it’s up to him to keep it that way.

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Sancho cost Manchester United £73million but the winger failed to scale the heights there

United manager Erik ten Hag banished Sancho after the player essentially accused him of lying over his efforts in training 

He was able to get away to his old team Dortmund on loan, but his future is still uncertain.

As long as people talk about Sancho, there will always be people who doubt and criticize him. Even as she leaves the stadium, 27-year-old season ticket user Nina tells Mail Sport that talking about Sancho is “hard for fans.”

She said, “He’s pricey.” “I love him and think he’s great, but how often does he perform?”

Hans-Joachim Watzke, the CEO, texted him a lot, especially when his situation at Manchester United was getting worse. 

A duty of care for any Dortmund graduate is built into the club. That much has been clear from just a few days at the camp.

These are the fears of bringing him back: his need to keep track of time and his will. The people in charge at Dortmund knew how much he loved PlayStation and playing games late at night, even as they tried hard to get him back.

In September, Sancho was in the news for playing video games with a Man United fan at 3 a.m. 

That made me think of a player who didn’t care about how important things were. I thought it was childish.

Yellow and black scarves with Sancho’s face on them for sale in Dortmund’s big club shop

Sancho mugs were one of the many items that were quickly sold to celebrate his return to the club.

A person who works in the United locker room told Mail Sport that by the end of his time at United, before he was sent out on loan with the team, he was being given different plans with much earlier arrival times than his teammates. 

United told Mail Sport that many players have changed their plans for a “variety” of reasons, and Sancho’s wasn’t just because he wasn’t good at keeping track of time.

But people were and still are worried, and Sancho was grown enough to deal with them head-on. He did enough to calm people’s fears over FaceTime while the move went through.

Fans are excited about Sancho’s speed; some might even sаy he’s the only player on this team who has the ability to be a hero. It was easy to see why the club’s social team chose him to be the face of this huge KO match.

During our three-day trip to Dortmund, people close to the team told us how contagious his energy was. During his first stint, he was the locker room DJ and played a variety of English and French rap for the other players. 

Besides being liked by everyone in the locker room, he’s also becoming more comfortable being alone. At Manchester United, Sancho had to get used to that, and now he does it all the time.

Sancho walked out of the stadium by himself with his UEFA Player of the Match award in his arm like a rugby ball, even though many of his teammates had already been driven back to their cars in other parts of the city. It was after midnight.

Dortmund memorabilia behind the bar at the Lütge-Eck pub in the city, where support of the local football team is fanatical 

The card for Sancho is from when he first played for Dortmund and wore the No. 7 shirt.When he got back to Dortmund, he wаnted to sit next to Marco Reus, who was his best friend on the team. 

He now sits in the back right corner between Ramy Bensebaini and Alexander Meyer, the replacement goalie, because that spot was already taken.There is such a strong desire within for Sancho’s six months ago to be a huge success. 

Terzic is one of his biggest fans and has asked fans to be patient and give Sancho more time. Watzke is a great friend. The social media team for the club is doing everything they can to make every win seem bigger.

The club wrote on X that “Sancho is back doing Sancho things” after he scored his first goal since coming back, which came in a weekend away game against Werder Bremen. 

It was his first goal of any kind since May 2023, when he scored against Fulham. Calling it “Sancho things,” even though the goal was good, was a little too far from the trutҺ.

For the first time since November 21, he’s scored two goals in a row. Maybe they were right after all.

The official X account said on Wednesday, “Jadon Sancho is brilliant.” There was no need for a figҺt.

This week was one of the few times Sancho has talked to the public since coming back. He said, “There’s always pressure.”

“Every game I played at BVB, I scored a goal or set up another one.” That’s why I know my friends have high hopes for me. I have high hopes for myself too.  

The Thursday morning version of the sports paper Bild is happy that Sancho is back to his best.

“I can see why they might be mаd at me for not contributing as much these past few weeks.” That’s what I expect from myself too.

“As you can see, my face isn’t totally happy [at Bremen].” But I want to keep getting better for the team.

Terzic didn’t listen to fans who said he shouldn’t have started Sancho, even though his play hadn’t called for it. He didn’t make a single chance in the first leg against PSV, but Terzic knew that big things were going to happen after Bremen’s goal. Rightful praise.

As Dortmund leaves their team hotel before the game, Sancho takes selfies.

“We’re pretty sure that it wasn’t his last goal; it was just his first,” Terzic said right before the game started.

“He showed that he is happy, wants to play, and wants to help us.” He will shine again in due course.

Even though Sancho has had a great week—he even celebrated his win with a W for the cameras—everyone can’t get rid of the feeling that everything is just temporary with him. 

Getting this win means that people have 11 more chances to do those “Sancho things” that they want to do.

Even if United are ready to take a big loss and offer £40 million for him, Dortmund won’t be able to buy him this summer because they don’t have the choice to do so. 

Ten Hag will not be able to come back to Man United if new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos give him another season. Terzic is still at rιsk of being fired.

It’s easy to see why Sancho is smiling, but it’s also easy to understand why he might not be completely happy right now. He’s not sure what to do, and everyone knows it. 

One boss who is done with him is still in charge, and another who loves him might not be there for much longer. His huge transfer fee and salary are also big problems.

Sancho opened his scoring account second time around for Dortmund by scoring in last weekend’s Bundesliga game against Werder Bremen

To figure out what will happen with his future, the winger needs to keep doing well on loan.

A person close to the players told Mail Sport that there won’t be a deal to keep Sancho unless Manchester United pay for another loan by a lot of money. 

When the idea of a swap deal involving Donyell Malan was brought up, it wasn’t given much attention.

“He doesn’t have as much of an effect on games as he used to,” the person said.

It almost didn’t need to be said out loud before this week’s bright spots, with no goals and two assists.

Some fans don’t even want the team to try very hard to keep Sancho after the summer.

Franck, a fan for more than 30 years, tells Mail Sport at the popular Wenkers sports bar, just a few steps from the famous Blaserbrunnen figure, “We’ve got bigger problems with this team.” 

“Jamie Bynoe-Gittens can already play on the left,” he said.

The 19-year-old, who also came up at Man City, is seen as the next big thing to come out of Dortmund’s well-oiled production line, and there are views that don’t agree with Terzic’s decision to stick with Sancho.

A local clothes seller named Oskar tells Mail Sport, “Sometimes we expect too much from Sancho.” “He seems to have everything.” It’s hard right now, though.

It doesn’t bother Aki, the bartender at the Lütge-Eck pub, which is covered from floor to ceiling with Dortmund souvenirs, when someone points out that one of the player-signed photos she has on show is of Sancho from his time with Barcelona, when he was with the No. 7.

While at United, Sancho was criticized for not keeping track of time and playing video games late at night.

In a sense, the Sancho light had been dim for a while, both in terms of the show behind the bar and if he stays, she might change it. 

His performance that won the game against PSV showed that he still has a few sparks left.

 On Tuesday, one day before what will be Dortmund’s most important game of the season, a bunch of reporters have gathered at the team’s Strobelallee Training Center.

Several teams are interested in Terzic. Julian Nagelsmann’s nаme keeps coming up in conversations about his future after the summer, as well as Marco Reus, a Dortmund star who has recently lost favor, and Malan, who was linked to Manchester United again this week.

Sancho was supposed to get less attention. That’s how things have been lately. Like column inches, the number of people who have seen him has changed since he left Manchester United.

Before a rondo in this part of the world, players show respect. When Sancho was one of the last players to come into the training session, he went straight to that.

Sancho was one of the few players to wear gloves because it was so dаmn cold. He then went up to every member of Dortmund’s media team—every camera and executive standing next to the field—and gave them all a quick fist bump. 

Any prоspect of a swap deal with United involving Donyell Malen was given short shrift

Dortmund doesn’t need Sancho as much now that they have winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens.

Even though it was a small thing, it’s said to show who he is right now.

Sancho was serious about following directions, both in English and German, and doing a great job. He even laughed quickly at teammate Felix Nmecha to show that he was having fun. 

A bad teacher? At Dortmund, no one wants to think about that.

One person close to the club said of Sancho, “He’s much quieter these days, but he works so hard.”

He was sent away from Manchester United because of how hard he worked in training, or how little he worked, in Ten Hag’s eyes. That he called his boss a liar in public only made things worse, and as they sаy, the rest is history.

 

Peggy, who is 21, and her mother have been to Dortmund’s team hotel in the south of the city many times before. They live near Leipzig.

They are all going out in the rain to see Sancho and his teammates in the hours before the game. Twelve other excited fans and Mail Sport are also there.

It’s a long wait for Reus, Brandt, or Marcel Sabitzer. Niklas, a fan, thinks it’s silly for fans to get close to Sancho again when he is only rented for six months.

He said, “Sure, I’ll buy his shirt next if he signs a new deal.”

Of course, a lot of Dortmund fans did rush to get the Sancho 10 jersey—5,000 in the first week at the club’s stadium megastore, to be exact. In seven days, Sancho fever made €500,000. The tag for the ad boy looked good.

Dortmund fans bought a lot of Sancho 10 shirts when he came back, but now they’re not as interested.

Since then, things have calmed down with Sancho. He is not the same player who went from making his professional debut to becoming a £73 million star and being turned down by Manchester United.

Wednesday at the club’s megastore, the only things that showed Sancho were a €20 scarf hidden in the second row at the back of the room and a mug that showed him grinning with pride during his first spell. Sancho wasn’t on any of the signs on the first or second floors.

As he walked into the L’Arrivee hotel, his running pants were sagging. He held a matte black washbag in his left hand and slung the same brand of bag over his shoulder. 

His hood was up, his head was bowed a little, and his AirPods were firmly in his ears. The music was on shuffle, and he stopped to sign a few things.

Sancho is currently living at the four-star L’Arrive Hotel, which formerly hosted Jurgen KloppRooms there cost about £170 a night and it has a gym and a swimming pool.

He is currently staying at this four-star hotel, which was once home to Jurgen Klopp and his wife Ulla. Being on the go all the time can be hard, even if this hotel and gym is nice for the 23-year-old.

The 70-room hotel costs €200 a night, but the best suite costs closer to €300 a night, and staff abruptly told Mail Sport they couldn’t sаy who was using it. The best suite was arranged for Sancho by Dortmund’s integration officer, Joel Kanz, who was one of the main people helping Sancho get used to life back in the Ruhr region.

Now that Sancho is back on a rental, things are different for him. While he trains and plays video games in his hotel room, many of his teammates, including fellow loanee Ian Maatsen, live in the fancier Horde neighborhood of Dortmund, which has a view of Lake Phoenix.

Even on game days, it’s quieter that way. A quick walk through the city center the morning of the PSV game showed that people weren’t bothered by the chaos. Instead, they were busy coming and going from their private garages, where almost all of the cars had their windows darkened.

There isn’t much going on in a bakery today because of a quiet morning and an American field trip. It works for players, and Sancho used to like it.

Dortmund is hoping that Sancho can help them get much further in Europe. 

Sancho used to live and run here. People on this trip talked about how Sancho got a lot of attention when, in 2021, he would go for runs around the lake at 5:22 a.m. to get in shape. For sure, it would be one of the few times people wouldn’t stop him to sign something.

But since there is no chance to buy in this short-term deal with Manchester United, putting down roots doesn’t seem like a good idea. 

His Instagram has 9.8 million followers, and he removed all posts about Manchester United while he was away. However, his £300,000-a-week deal keeps him at Old Trafford until 2026 unless they cut bait.

“We really hope Erik ten Hag stays!” During the training day, one Dortmund employee made a joke to Mail Sport. If Sancho agrees, he might come back here next season.

As of right now, there is no clear answer, and Sancho’s job is to make Dortmund pay a lot of money to keep him. It’s fine to have goals like this.

“He’s unique.” “Everyone in the locker room sees it,” goalie Gregor Kobel told Mail Sport after PSV won.

“He’s a unique player with lots of skills.” He scored again, which makes me very, very happy. I hope he can keep going strong after the last game and now. I’m so glad he’s here and thankful for the skills he brings.

How long will Dortmund be able to use his skills this time? That’s the question that no one can answer.