DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Jadon Sancho is looking forward to playing “with a smile” again at his old club Borussia Dortmund.
The England forward’s unhappy stay at Manchester United is over, at least for now, after he returned to Dortmund on loan for the rest of the season.
The deal does not come with an option for Dortmund to buy Sancho, who could play his first game for Dortmund on Saturday against Darmstadt. Dortmund are set to pay an initial 3.5 million euros ($3.8 million) for the loan but the eventual cost depends heavily on bonuses.
The England forward has not played for United since August after a rift with coach Erik ten Hag, which included Sancho publicly claiming he was being made a “scapegoat” at the club. Ten Hag said at the time that Sancho had underperformed in training.
“When I walked into the changing room today, it felt like coming home. I know the club inside out, I’ve always been very close to the fans here and I’ve never lost contact with the people in charge,” Sancho said in a Dortmund statement.
“I can’t wait to see my teammates again, get out on the pitch, play football with a smile on my face, get assists, score goals and help the club qualify for the Champions League.”
Sancho joined United from Dortmund for 85 million euros (then $100 million) in 2021. He has nine goals in 59 Premier League appearances.
Sancho previously starred in a four-year spell at Dortmund, scoring 50 goals in 137 competitive games. He joined the German club from Manchester City in 2017.
Dortmund have been inconsistent this season, arguably overachieving in the Champions League by finishing top in a group with Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Newcastle, while disappointing in the Bundesliga, where they have failed to win any of their last four games. Dortmund are fifth in the table, 15 points behind leader Bayer Leverkusen.
Sancho has three goals in 23 appearances for England but hasn’t played for his country since October 2021.
