Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic believes Jadon Sancho is still working his way back to match fitness after such a long lay-off at Manchester United.
The England international returned to Dortmund on loan in January following a public spat with United manager Erik ten Hag. And, since his return, the winger has faced plenty of criticism for his underwhelming perfomances in Germany.
Sancho scored what proved to be the winning goal for Dortmund against Werder Bremen on Saturday. The Manchester United loanee picked up the ball on the edge of the box before gliding his way through and finding the bottom corner with his shot.
The goal was Sancho’s first since last May.
Speaking to media after the match, Dortmund boss Terzic made it clear that he feels Sancho’s struggles this season come from his lengthily lay-off at United. As a result he thinks the winger is still working to gain full match fitness.
“Jadon shoots before anyone else sees it,” Terzic said, as quoted by 90min. “He’s not a player that has a really hard shot or a very precise shot, but he gets his shots away very quickly.
“We were working in training all week on him getting into situations where he can gain confidence. It showed what he is capable of, and hopefully he can continue like this. He’s not limiting himself to scoring a goal – it was his entire performance.
“We know he’s not 100%, there’s no way he can be [after a long lay-off]. But we’ll get him there.”
Nobody knows what the future holds for Sancho, but he will struggle to get a big move away from United in the summer unless his performances improve. The odd goal for Dortmund won’t be enough for that unless they decide to take him back on a permanent deal.
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