Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho is the man of the moment after inspiring Borussia Dortmund to a Champions League semi-final first leg win over Paris Saint-Germain.
The job is only half done, but Jadon Sancho is in an unbelievable position compared to where he was in the first half of the campaign, exiled and training alone at Manchester United.
Sancho returned to Borussia Dortmund on loan in January looking to recapture his form, fitness and confidence.
The Champions League represented his best chance of proving a point, and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands, now with a real chance to reach the final.
Alessandro del Piero on Jadon Sancho future
Jadon Sancho was one of the best players on the pitch as Borussia Dortmund beat PSG 1-0 through a Niclas Fullkrug goal.
Sancho’s dribbling was off the charts, leaving former United great Rio Ferdinand blown away, during pundit duties for TNT Sport.
There was plenty of debate in the CBS Sports Golazo studio too, where Juventus legend Alessandro del Piero was analysing the game.
The topic of Sancho’s future came up, and Del Piero challenged Sancho to go back to Manchester United and prove he can deliver for the Red Devils too.
He said: “If a player like him can play these kind of games, with this kind of quality, you need to go to Man United.
“Next year maybe, one more year, lets see how he feels, which coach, ok, everything, this kind of player needs to play every year at the top.
“And Dortmund don’t get me wrong, they deserve to be there, they may go to the final and win the Champions League, but [it would be] something extraordinary for that.
“With Man United they are supposed to go every year. I know they are struggling, but you have to, you want to achieve with the big clubs and this is the destiny of Man United and the destiny of him at some point.
“I hope for him that he can go there and perform in that way, with that personality, I really hope so.
“Tonight he was unbelievable, he was dribbling everybody.”
Reacting to Del Piero’s comments on Sancho
Manchester United fans are sceptical whether Sancho has the willpower or focus to deliver at Old Trafford, but if he comes back and plays like this, he would win a few fans over.
To counter Del Piero’s comments a little, we will point out United have not reached the Champions League semi-finals since 2011, and since then have reached the quarters only twice.
And most worryingly, United won’t even be in the competition next season after a torrid Premier League campaign.
Dortmund’s win tonight has wrapped up a fifth qualifying spot for German clubs, although even fifth place in the Premier League was too much for United to reach this season.
Sancho did not play a single Champions League group stage game for Manchester United this season.
The team finished bottom of the group and were eliminated from Europe altogether.
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Thierry Henry on Jadon Sancho
Thierry Henry was a studio guest alongside Alessandro del Piero, and he was impressed by Jadon Sancho’s performance too.
Praising his decision to return to the German side, he said: “It was an amazing choice for him… what he did today, wow.”
Henry did not rule out Sancho returning to Manchester United, pointing out that he is still registered to the club, although insisted it’s probably dependent on a new manager coming in.
He said: “If a new manager comes, and he wants him to stay, he will stay. He belongs to Man United.”