Sancho Feeling Pressure

Photocredit: metro.co.uk

Jadon Sancho has gotten off to a relatively slow start by his standards this season. His club, Borrusia Dortmund, have similarly gotten off to a shaky start in what was supposed to be a campaign they were going to challenge Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga Title. Things certainly haven't gone to plan this season for the young English forward. Dortmund sit 6th in the Bundesliga after a humiliating defeat in Bavaria this past weekend. Their saving grace is that they still are only 6 points off first place and 2 off Bayern. How they respond to the defeat will be enormous. Sancho got lifted in that game very early and it was said he had an injury. He clearly didn't as he featured for England in their 7-0 win over Montenegro, starting the match.

He was a serviceable player in England's match with Montenegro to be sure, but of all the forwards he clearly had the least impact and left you wondering if some of the other young guns on the bench were going to get their chance when he wasn't really standing out. Gareth Southgate chose not to take him out and rather to let him keep going. He only helped feature on one goal and it was the last one by Chelsea's Tammy Abraham so perhaps it was the right move.

Sancho is probably thinking way too much about all the transfer speculation that is surrounding him when he shouldn't be. He's 19. He's in a good situation at Borrusia Dortmund who he owes a lot to for getting his career jump started. He will get his premier league move soon enough but it is clearly impacting his game that the news is on him so much. His every performance will be dissected. A fee of 100 million has already been placed on his head. Liverpool are interested. United look desperate. So desperate in fact it appears they are interested in possibly doing what Chelsea did with Pulisic last year and get the deal done in January. It may yet be better for him if he knows his fate come January because he has not been his absolute best since the transfer speculation took full swing.

Despite all the rumors surrounding the 19 year old player, it is worth noting that he has yet to have a dominating performance against an elite team. Dortmund are in the group of death in this year's Champions League and he has yet to register a goal in 4 games. Dortmund have come up flat in recent encounters with Bayern. If a club of the elite caliber are to come after him, he should have a dominant performance on the biggest stage. These last 2 Champions League outings (1 of which is at Barcelona) would be huge for him to make a statement in. Or his cost shouldn't be 100 million. But then again, United may well be that desperate to get him. It just would be way riskier than a £100m bet should be. Erling Braut Haaland meanwhile has 7 goals in 4 Champions League appearances this season against the likes of Liverpool and Napoli. Far more convincing. Reminds me of Mbappe's performances when he came on the scene a few years back in the Champions League on that Monaco team with Bernardo Silva and Fabinho.