Premier League champions Manchester City lost Jadon Sancho to Borussia Dortmund in 2017, after Scottish Premiership giants Celtic missed out.
Jadon Sancho may be just 18 years of age, he may not have a single senior call-up to his name, but he is suddenly looking like the brightest young talent in English football.
Pep Guardiola was desperate to keep the winger at Manchester City but he felt that he would find first-team minutes easier to come by in Germany with Borussia Dortmund. And a year after his move to the Bundesliga, that decision has most certainly been vindicated.
Sancho was a revelation in the second half of last seson, setting up four goals in seven league starts for Dortmund, and has even been tipped to earn a call-up for England’s senior side in the very near future.
Now, Sancho’s former Three Lions youth coach is comparing him to Neymar. So it’s tempting to look back at Celtic’s interest last summer, as reported by The Sun (April 23, page 61) and wonder what could’ve been.
“Provided he doesn’t become restricted he could be our Neymar-type player – in terms of being unpredictable, playing on that left-hand side,” Dan Micciche, who coached Sancho at U15 and U16 level, told The Guardian.
“And he’s flamboyant, entertaining to watch. But like Neymar he’s effective with it. In most games he’ll create something – it’s not a beauty contest. He’s not on the pitch flicking it over someone’s head for the sake of it.”
Sancho’s development has been a joy to behold at Dortmund and he surely would’ve been afforded the same opportunities, if not even more, if he’d moved to Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic instead.
‘England’s Neymar’ could soon be Celtic’s one that got away.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
