“The life had gone out of him”- Kieron Dyer recollects how 17-year-old Jadon Sancho ‘quit’ on teammates after ‘red flag’ incident against Chelsea star
Former Premier League midfielder Kieron Dyer recently shared an incident regarding Jadon Sancho from the past, highlighting the winger's alleged attitude issues.
Jadon Sancho joined Manchester City's youth system from Watford back in 2015. He featured in City's U18 side, which reached the FA Youth Cup final against Chelsea in 2017. It ended 1-1 in the first leg before the Blues demolished the City U18 5-1 at home in the second leg.
Dyer, who was Ipswich's U18 coach back then, recalled how Jadon Sancho had given up on his team during the game. He said that the winger had a tough time against Reece James and then gave up tracking back and other aspects.
Dyer first heaped praise on Jadon Sancho on talkSPORT (via Daily Mail):
"He was a wonderkid growing up. He was the talk of everybody in the academies at that time. I was coaching and when I watched Man City he was unstoppable. It was the youth team, so the under-18s and he was incredible.
"He was probably 17 years old and everyone wanted him – he could have his pick, he'd just dominate every team."
Dyer then explained the incident, saying:
"They played Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup final and played against Reece James and Reece James got the better of him, which can happen to anyone, but he quit on his team in the Youth Cup final.
"He just mentally went and I kind of had a red flag against him then and thought that's a bit weird. He's got the world at his feet and alright, he's had a bad game but he's quit on his teammates. You could see the life had gone out of him, he'd stopped tracking back and sort of given up and was basically mentally gone."
Sancho went on to join Borussia Dortmund from City's youth team that year before returning to the Premier League with Manchester United in 2021. He has now re-joined Dortmund on a six-month loan this January.
Jadon Sancho hoping to revive his career at Borussia Dortmund
Jadon Sancho put in brilliant performances during his first spell at Borussia Dortmund. He registered 50 goals and 64 assists in 137 games for the German side, winning two cups.
This led to Manchester United signing the winger for a reported £73 million in 2021. However, he failed to replicate his form at Old Trafford, scoring just 12 goals and providing six assists in 82 games across competitions.
Jadon Sancho also had a public falling out with manager Erik ten Hag earlier this season. This led to him being banished from the first team. The Englishman played for the last time back in August.
He has now returned to Borussia Dortmund on a six-month loan deal with no option to buy. He will hope he can find back the form he previously showed at the German club.