‘Man Utd talk will unsettle Sancho but he’s at a special club’ – Lambert backing Dortmund to deliver titles

Intense speculation regarding a big-money move to Manchester United will have unsettled Jadon Sancho, admits Paul Lambert, but the Borussia Dortmund winger has been told that he is already at a “special club”.

A highly-rated England international spent much of the summer being linked with a return to his homeland.

United, who made the 20-year-old a top target, wasted considerable time and energy pursuing a deal that never looked like being put in place.

Sancho suffered a dip in form after seeing his head turned, but has offered indications over recent weeks – for club and country – that he is ready to rediscover his spark.

Having found the target for England in a UEFA Nations League clash with Iceland, a third goal of the season for Dortmund was recorded on Tuesday in a Champions League win over Club Brugge.

Lambert believes Sancho is capable of putting the transfer talk he has been generating behind him, with there no need for the former Manchester City academy graduate to be considering a retracing of his steps.

The former Dortmund midfielder, who tasted European glory during his time in Germany, told the Daily Star: “I understand people saying that he’s a young kid and that he isn’t performing as well as he has been but now he is starting to really play.

“I think the talk of Manchester United would unsettle him being a British guy, but he has got a special club in Borussia Dortmund.

“Once the fans come back, as he knows himself, there is no better place to play football because the atmosphere is incredible.

“Hopefully he helps the team to success.”

Lambert, who captured a Champions League crown with BVB in 1997, believes Lucien Favre’s class of 2020-21 are capable of ending Bayern Munich’s dominance of the Bundesliga this season and claiming a first title triumph in nine years.

The Scot added: “I think this could be the year. With all the young guys like [Erling] Haaland, Sancho, Giovanni Reyna and Jude Bellingham, alongside Marcos Reus, Mats Hummels, Thomas Meunier and Axel Witsel - they have top players.

“Hopefully this is the moment where they can overcome Bayern Munich, I think the club need a title whether it’s the Bundesliga or the Champions League or the DFB Cup.

“They have been so close in the last few years and hopefully, from an ex-Dortmund player, this is when they can get it. They’re going to have to overcome a really strong Bayern team.

“Everyone knows that they are really, really strong, but hopefully this season is the year that they can get it.”