A club colleague of the England international admits facing the youngster in training or competitive action can be a thankless task for defenders
Jadon Sancho “wants you to know that he’s better than you”, says Borussia Dortmund team-mate Thomas Meunier, with the England international compared to Kylian Mbappe in the showboating stakes.
Said talent has seen a 20-year-old forward enjoy a meteoric rise to prominence.
Sancho has become one of the most sought-after assets in European football, with Manchester United having spent much of the summer trying to lure him back to his homeland.
Dortmund have stood firm, however, and made it clear that they will not be bowing to transfer pressure.
That means Sancho is being freed to continue tormenting club colleagues and Bundesliga rivals in Germany.
Meunier, who left Mbappe’s side at Paris Saint-Germain to link up with Dortmund in the current transfer window, told BVB TV of Sancho: “Jadon is a bit sneaky.
“He always wants to nutmeg you or dribble past you. It’s a bit like a humiliation. He wants you to know that he’s better than you.
“Mbappe is the same – they are a bit arrogant in the way they play. There are ways to stop them – you take the ball or take then man!”
Sancho is one of several youngsters to be starring for Dortmund, with Erling Haaland, Gio Reyna and Jude Bellingham also forming part of Luicien Favre’s exciting squad.
“They’re fantastic, not only as footballers, but as people,” Meunier added.
“They’re all conscious of the fact we have the quality to do something great. We all want to win titles, and everyone is going in the same directions. They can be 17 or 25 – it makes no difference.”
Meunier, at 29 years of age, is one of the more experienced heads at Dortmund.
He is hoping to put those qualities to good use, with the Belgium international right-back confident that he can strike up a productive partnership with Sancho down their flank and contribute plenty of end product himself.
“I’m an attacking player, so I can score a goal in every game,” Meunier said.
“I might have scored against Gladbach – I was on my own when Gio went down for the penalty. There will always be possibilities [to score].
“But my priority is to be on the pitch every three days. Recovery is the most important thing for that. Being professional is the key to success.”
Dortmund opened their 2020-21 Bundesliga campaign with a 3-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach, with Reyna and Haaland on the scoresheet, and have a trip to Augsburg and a Supercup clash with Bayern Munich to take in over the course of the next week.
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