Why we all need to get behind Jadon Sancho

Jadon Sancho was a precocious talent at Manchester City. Watching him play for the EDS team, it was apparent he had the skill and trickery present to become a good player.

He formed an integral part of the group alongside Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz who seemed destined to breakthrough to the Manchester City first team.

In fact Sancho reached the point where he was referenced by the Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak as a real exciting prospect for the future.

And then things came to a head. Sancho was anxious to be reassured of game time. Pep and Manchester City would provide no assurances. If you train hard enough and play well you will be picked for the first team was the mantra. Sancho refused to sign a new contract.

Without a new contract the club omitted him from the pre-season tour of the US in the Summer of 2017. Sancho stayed away. Refused to train or turn up at the club and generally agitated for a move.

His behaviour was in marked contrast to Phil Foden. His team mate and one of the two other players highlighted as future stars. Foden knuckled down, took his chances and signed his contract.

Its probably worth pointing out in this comparison the differences between Sancho and Foden. Foden has been at Manchester City since age 5 and has close ties to the City and the Club. Sancho was signed by Manchester City from Watford at age 14 for an initial £66K, potentially rising to £500k.

The acrimonious dispute bewteen Sancho and Manchester City was eventually settled with the transfer of the player to Borussia Dortmund in August 2017. The transfer fee seemed to comprise various elements but the initial fee seemed to be £8 million rising to £10 million depending upon appearances. This seemed the best deal Manchester City could get at the time for a player refusing to train and whose contract was shortly to end.

There had been rumours the player was agitating for a move towards his family in London and in the press Arsenal were linked on more than one occasion. So City probably also achieved a goal of keeping him away from the Premier League in the short term.

Fans of Manchester City were critical of Sancho, many believing the player to be a mercenary and not respecting of the club due to the manner in which he departed.

The signing of youngster by Borussia Dortmund was reported as a bargain and in contrast to his previous team mate Foden, the Englishman seems to have gained more game time. Last season, Sancho played 12 games for Dortmund, scoring one goal and assisting four.

These are impressive results for an 18 year old in a foreign country playing their first league season. Sancho appears to have started off the new season in similar style playing two games and making two assists to date.

That form and his starring potential is expected Sancho will be given a full England call up by Gareth Southgate in the upcoming Internationals, alongside Foden. If Sancho does receive a full England cap then it will no doubt start a further debate about whether City were right to let him go and whether the fee they secured was too low for a player of some real potential.

However there are two very real reasons why Manchester City fans should get behind Sancho and hope his career continues its stellar rise. These two reasons are both to do with the transfer agreement Manchester City reputedly struck with Borussia Dortmund for the player.

It’s important to understand Manchester City did not want to sell Sancho and actually saw him as an important potential member of the first team. I have no doubt that if Sancho had signed the contract offered by City he would have played many games in the Centurions team last season. Anyway the two reasons why we should get behind Sancho are “first option” and “sell on clause” reportedly agreed in the negotiations.

City were so reluctant to let Sancho go because they believed he would be a star of the future. So they reputedly agreed a first option clause in the transfer. This means if Borussia Dortmund consider selling Sancho to any club they have to offer him to Manchester City first. In effect giving Manchester City a first refusal on the deal.

So even though he is a Dortmund player, City may still exercise some control regarding the destination of Sancho in the future. Whether this really means they would buy the player even if he didn’t want to come remains to be seen.

City also inserted a fairly standard sell on clause into the deal however this reflected the future worth of the player to Manchester City. The sell on clause is believed to be a staggering 25%.

So Manchester City fans, rejoice in the development of Jadon Sancho, don’t boo him. Every game and England call up will help his development and make him a better player. And if he turns into a bona fide superstar then we will just buy him back. We have the first option.

If he is a superstar and we simply don’t fancy him then we will take the sell on of 25%. Just think he’s probably worth about £40 million already so City have already doubled their investment! And to think Txiki Bergiristain and Omar Berradi as the City Football Group staff responsible for transfers tend to get a bad press!

Jadon Sancho, just think if he is any good then he really is only on loan. So blues don’t be worried about cheering him on. He’s still pretty much one of ours.