"Jadon Sancho is a world-class player" - Borussia Dortmund head coach Lucien Favre
Jadon Sancho is "a world-class player" with skill levels that bely his age, according to Borussia Dortmund head coach Lucien Favre.
Favre gave Sancho his first-team debut as a 17-year-old in October 2017, before overseeing his breakout campaign as a professional in 2018/19.
Sancho, a former Watford and Manchester City youth player, scored 12 goals and topped the Bundesliga’s assists charts (14), whilst becoming a fully fledged senior England international.
The antithesis of a one-hit wonder, the now 19-year-old is already on 10 goals and 11 assists in 21 appearances in all competitions in 2019/20, with six and five respectively in his last seven outings.
"Jadon’s a world-class player, no question about that - but you have to remember he's only 19 years old. It's hard to be outstanding in every game," Favre told SportBild after Sancho fired Dortmund into the UEFA Champions League last 16 with a goal and assist against Slavia Prague.
"He knows that I like him and that we all like him, both as a player and as a person," the 62-year-old continued. "He's a good kid who helps us out a lot on a regular basis. I've rarely seen a player who has come so far at such a young age."
Coming from a coach who has nurtured the likes of two-time Germany Player of the Year Marco Reus and the Bundesliga's record Belgian goalscorer Thorgan Hazard - teammates of Sancho at Dortmund - that is saying something. Yet the lofty praise is fully merited.
Watch: Jadon Sancho scored twice as Dortmund thrashed Düsseldorf 5-0 on Matchday 14
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The fleet-footed Londoner has broken through the 50-game barrier at a younger age and had a direct hand in more goals than both players had managed after the same number of appearances in their respective Bundesliga careers. No wonder Favre has his sights trained on the league title: "We can definitely do it. If not this season, then in the future!"
Dortmund are third in the current standings, five points behind leaders Borussia Möchengladbach, but two ahead of defending champions Bayern Munich. The Black-Yellows travel to Mainz on Saturday, before concluding their 2019 schedule at home to second-in-the-table RB Leipzig (17 December) and away to Hoffenheim (20 December).
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