The fall of Jadon Sancho: From Man Utd and England's £74m hope to public row with Erik ten Hag

Sancho was born and raised in Kennington, South London. The capital's south has turned into a footballing hotbed in the last decade, with a 2021 study revealing that 10 per cent of Premier League players all hailed from the same, 10-mile stretch below the River Thames.

Joe Gomez, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Eberechi Eze and Tammy Abraham are just some of the players to have emerged from South London's football scene, which was the centre of South of the River, a TV series presented by Rio Ferdinand. And Sancho, whose skills were honed in the unforgiving concrete pitches dotted around the area, known as cages, was the area's biggest star.

Despite being from south of the river, Sancho's first experience of organised football came north of the capital with Watford, where he moved at the age of seven, remaining until he was 15. Even though he left before he could turn professional, he has very fond memories of his time with the Hornets.

“Watford was a lot of fun,” Sancho told United's website in 2022. “I was happy when I was there and I had a lot of freedom when I was playing. That’s what makes me happy and makes me the best player I can be when I’m just free, doing what I love. At Watford I used to work on a lot of skills and I wanted to show people what I can do."

Word of Sancho's talents spread across the country and Manchester City came calling in 2015. Sancho said moving to the Blues "was a good opportunity to get out of the hood. There were a lot of bad influences."

He played in the same Under-18s side as Phil Foden and current Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz, but was itching for a shot at first-team football. When he was left out of Pep Guardiola's squad for the pre-season tour of the United States in 2017 while Foden travelled, Sancho kicked up a fuss and stopped attending training.

While Guardiola did not think Sancho was ready for first-team football, the player thought otherwise and immediately sought a move. Borussia Dortmund were willing takers, snapping him up for around £8m ($10m) in the summer of 2017 and putting him straight into the first-team squad.

Sancho's belief in his own ability was vindicated when he made his first-team debut against Eintracht Frankfurt in October. His first goal came in a 4-0 win against local rivals Bayer Leverkusen in April 2018, the winger setting up two more on the day.

Sancho's performances for Dortmund could not be ignored and he was called into the England squad by Gareth Southgate in October 2018, making his debut off the bench in the 0-0 draw against Croatia in the UEFA Nations League, replacing Raheem Sterling.

Aged 18 years and 200 days, he became the seventh-youngest England debutant of all time (he is now the ninth-youngest).

Just two weeks after making his England bow, Sancho reached another milestone: his first goal in the Champions League. Atletico Madrid were the victims and Dortmund were already 2-0 up by the time he came off the bench, quickly stretching his side's lead in a 4-0 rout of Diego Simeone's side.

Sancho's breakout season just got better and better and he ended it with 12 goals in the Bundesliga and 18 assists, plus one of each in the Champions League. But his next campaign was even more sensational.

Now playing in a side containing Erling Haaland, Sancho scored 17 times for Dortmund, putting him among the top three goalscorers in the Bundesliga that season, only trailing Robert Lewandowski and Timo Werner. He also provided 17 assists, meaning he averaged more than a goal contribution in each match.

Sancho won his first major trophy in May 2021 when Dortmund thrashed RB Leipzig 4-1 in the DFB-Pokal final. And Sancho played a starring role, scoring twice, with Haaland grabbing the other two goals. It proved to be Sancho's last game in a Dortmund shirt, and the only shame was that the match had to be played without any fans in the stadium due to coronavirus restrictions.

“I can’t thank the people in charge at Borussia Dortmund enough for the chance they gave me as a very young player,” Sancho said when he eventually left Dortmund. "At BVB I was able to mature into the player I am today. The DFB Cup win last season was a great end to my time at BVB. But I will always remember the support and love of the incredible fans as something special.”

United had been targeting Sancho for more than a year and finally struck a deal with Dortmund in July 2021, agreeing a £74m fee with the Bundesliga side. Even though he had spent two years with City, Sancho expressed his long-time admiration for the Red Devils.

"Growing up, Manchester United was one of the biggest clubs that everyone knows, and of course there is also all the trophies they’ve won and there have been many iconic players that have come before me," he said. "So I’m very happy to be wearing this jersey now."

Sancho played a bit-part role in England's run to the final of Euro 2020, but his tournament ended in agony as he was brought on late in extra-time in the final against Italy at Wembley and missed his spot-kick in the penalty shootout defeat.

To make matters worse, he was subjected to vile online abuse along with Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford in the aftermath of the match.

Sancho ended up being far from United's star signing of the summer of 2021, and his arrival was very much upstaged by Cristiano Ronaldo's shock return to Old Trafford.

Sancho struggled to adapt to his new team as United endured one of their worst ever seasons in the Premier League, finishing sixth and picking up their lowest points total in 30 years. It was also a difficult season on an individual level, as Sancho scored only three times in the league.

At the start of his second campaign with United, Sancho then suddenly looked like the player United had paid £74m for. The winger scored a brilliant goal in the 2-1 win over Liverpool and then struck another decisive goal against Leicester, while also netting against Sheriff in the Europa League.

"He understands now he has to invest in the physical and that is what he did and now he can get the reward and that is what he has to bring. I'm sure it's the start for him," said a delighted Ten Hag. "With his potential, there's much more room for improvement, he can be even more important and contribute with his creativity and scoring goals and assists."

However, Sancho's bright start soon faded and he contributed less and less in matches. Ten Hag took decisive action, removing him from the squad completely and devising an individual training programme to get the winger fit and firing again.

"When the league started he played some good games, but after we got a drop of levels. Sometimes you don't know why or what is causing it," the Dutchman said. "Most of the time it comes slowly. First you observe, but the stats back it up. In the start of the season, he had goals and assists, but his key moments and key actions became less and less. It's a combination of physical but also mental."

Sancho finally returned to the United team in February 2023 and got a rousing reception from fans when he made his comeback against Nottingham Forest. He was more than grateful, writing on social media: "Wow! Just want to say a massive thank you to everyone for the support I’ve received over the past few weeks, especially to the fans. My focus is to give my all to my team and the club, I’m so happy to be back out on the pitch, see you soon."

Sancho then scored twice in quick succession, netting in a comeback against rivals Leeds before scoring in the 3-0 win over Leicester. Unfortunately, his revival proved to be short-lived and he ended the season in unconvincing form, scoring just twice in the final three months.

Sancho was heavily involved in pre-season and was deployed as a false nine during the tour of the U.S. However, he was left out of the starting line-up for the Premier League season opener against Wolves, as well as the subsequent matches against Tottenham and Nottingham Forest, albeit he did make apearances off the bench.

His omission from the squad against Arsenal has, though, sparked an open conflict with Ten Hag. The Dutchman is ruthless and has come down hard on players who have rebelled against him, including Ronaldo.

It looks like it could be a long road back for Sancho, and if he cannot recover his place in the United team, it will not just be seen as the Red Devils making a huge transfer mistake. It will be seen as a travesty for English football, the sad decline of one of the nation's greatest talent. Let's hope this sad tale has a happy ending.