Wayne Rooney: “It’s fun to watch Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund”
Wayne Rooney has praised the performances of Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho, explaining how he enjoys watching the teenager and how he is at the right club to develop.
England’s all-time record goalscorer told German newspaper Bild am Sontag, “It’s fun to watch him, he’s doing really well at BVB.”
Sancho provided a Bundesliga-high 14 assists, plus a further 12 goals, in 2018/19, so perhaps the former Three Lions captain is merely stating the obvious, but as a former teenage sensation himself and once England’s youngest-ever debutant, Rooney knows what it takes to make the cut.
“Playing time is important for a young player like Jadon,” the 33-year-old DC United striker stated. “If he’s going to get the most playing time in Dortmund then he should stay.”
And that is what he received in his second season with Borussia. Sancho was the only player in the team to feature in all 34 Bundesliga games under coach Lucien Favre in 2018/19, while only Axel Witsel matched him for appearances in all competitions.
Watch: Jadon Sancho's Bundesliga mixtape
The 19-year-old has now played 55 games for the Dortmund first team since joining from Manchester City in 2017, where he failed to make a single senior appearance.
Former Manchester United captain Rooney knows that one of English football’s hottest assets is currently at the right club: “Dortmund is a great club with great fans. They look to young players there, and you can see that with Sancho and the progress he’s made in the last 12 months.”
The question now is what will we see from the teenage winger in the coming 2019/20 season? Sancho and Dortmund begin their campaign in the season-opening Supercup against Bayern Munich at the Signal Iduna Park on 3 August before facing Uerdingen in the first round of the DFB Cup.
Last season’s runners-up then begin their Bundesliga title challenge at home to Augsburg on 17/18 August.
