Report: Borussia Dortmund ponders the prospect of a Jadon Sancho return

According to Sport Bild, Borussia Dortmund is keeping tabs on Jadon Sancho’s situation at Manchester United, with the Red Devils looking to part way for a fee of 50 million euros.

As we head into the summer season, another week without club football means that football rumors have the opportunity to spring from thin air to simultaneously excite and disappoint football fans. As they wait for clubs to announce the new faces that will wear their badge come next season, the anticipation is clearly mounting. For Borussia Dortmund however, its been a pretty barren transfer season so far, despite ample rumors suggesting deals should be nearing completion.

For all the noise surrounding these transfer sagas, the only one to materialize so far is Ramy Bensebaini, who replaces the outgoing Raphaël Guerreiro. While some of Dortmund’s targets like Edson Álvarez and Iván Fresneda fit the parameters of the types of players the club is currently looking for, there are others that seem to be perpetuated simply because it sounds like a nice story in waiting. The rumors surrounding Jadon Sancho are a quintessential example of this.

According to Sport Bild, there is the slightest chance that Dortmund may be able to make the return of Sancho a reality, claiming that Sporting Director Sebastian Kehl is informed on Sancho’s situation and in contact with the player’s representatives at Project Elite Group. While this on it’s own might be true, the main hurdles that hinder the possibility of any return are of course the asking price (50 million euros), Sancho’s current wages (20 million euros per year) and the simple fact that Dortmund are well stacked out wide at this current juncture in time. The only way any move would make sense is if one of Dortmund’s current wide players left the club for a substantial fee to make room for Sancho, which considering the performances of Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi in the second half of the season, is highly unlikely.

The move itself sounds like a story primed for success; A former star returns to revolutionize the team he left years ago for pastures new. It has a nice ring to it, and to be fair, I certainly think Edin Terzić could find a way to get the best out of Sancho again. It would be hard to not get excited for such a move because of Sancho’s performances at Dortmund during his first stint with the club.

While comfort and excitement can always be found in the nostalgia of the past, this is one flight of fancy I don’t expect the  the club to pursue unless there is a drastic change in the makeup of Dortmund’s starting 11 prior to the start of next season. It is a shame to see the trajectory the player’s career has taken to this point, and while I firmly believe his form would improve should he come back to the Westfalenstadion, the timing and conditions are simply not quite right for such a reunion to occur.