Borussia Dortmund wasted no time in reaping the rewards of Jadon Sancho’s return to the Bundesliga, with the England international making an immediate impact.
Sancho provided assists in his first two games after returning on loan from Manchester United, and later scored in a Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven.
Dortmund manager Edin Terzic revealed that Sancho has been ‘full of joy’ since his return to Signal Iduna Park.
Sayce Holmes-Lewis, a coach and former footballer who knew Sancho from his early days at Watford, spoke exclusively to Mirror football about the revival of the young player.
Holmes-Lewis reminisced about their shared experiences at the London Youth Games alongside mutual friend Reiss Nelson – who now plays for Arsenal – and emphasized the importance of supportive relationships in football.
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As for his connection with Sancho and Nelson, Holmes-Lewis admitted he has ‘always had a good relationship’ with both Reiss and Jadon.
He discussed the importance of having people around you who you trust in the football world: “It’s not easy for them because they’ve left their community, they’re in the spotlight and the lack of support they sometimes get from the clubs – because they have enormous amounts of money, they end up with the people they trust.”
Reflecting on Sancho’s development alongside the likes of Nelson and Ian Poveda, the Colombian international, Holmes-Lewis noted the value of nurturing talent in environments conducive to individual expression, such as street football.
Holmes-Lewis acknowledged the efforts of academies to recreate the dynamic nature of street football, but emphasized the irreplaceable elements of those grassroots experiences. He emphasized the need to give young players the opportunity to develop creativity and resilience.
When asked for advice for young footballers, Holmes-Lewis added: “I would say keep those trusted people around you, people who will hold you accountable and tell you the hard truths.
Sancho’s father had asked the coach his opinion on the move to Germany when he first played for Dortmund, to which Holmes-Lewis admitted it was a ‘great shout’.
‘We saw what he did during his time at Dortmund, his first spell, and now you see him coming back to Dortmund and just getting a feel for the game again, supported in a way that he might not get at Man United. , but now you see how he expresses himself on the field and he plays the game as if he loves the game again.’ He continued.
Sayce Holmes-Lewis admitted he has ‘always had a good relationship’ with Reiss Nelson and Jadon Sancho
Holmes-Lewis noted the value of nurturing talent in environments conducive to individual expression, such as street football
Jadon Sancho celebrates with teammates after giving Borussia Dortmund an early lead against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday evening
Sancho escaped Man United and was loaned out to his former club Dortmund, but his future remains unknown
On the importance of maintaining a love for the game apart from the eye-watering salaries, he revealed that young people ‘need to understand’ why am I playing this game? What is my motivation? Is it the money? Is it the cars? Is it the women? No, it’s not, it’s because I love this game. And yes, I get paid for it, but I want to enjoy it at the same time.’
After opening a new 4G pitch on the Aylesbury Estate in South London, where Reiss Nelson and Holmes-Lewis both grew up, they both expressed the importance of street footballers in ‘producing the best generational talent’.
Pointing to Matthew Le Tissier, Paul Gascoigne and Wayne Rooney as some of the best ‘street footballers’ in the game, estates and cage football provided a unique environment in which successful young talents could flourish.
“We’re losing that kind of individuality in the game and that freedom of expression, and that’s where we actually get those players from. From those estates, those who play on those fields and express themselves every day.
“I think with the small cages we used to have, the small games that Reiss and Jadon and the players I coached, you had to be able to manipulate the ball to survive in those games. with the physical element. The mixed gender, the mixed age groups, you had to take care of yourself.”
Dortmund travel to Bayern Munich for their next Bundesliga match on Saturday, while Manchester United visit Brentford for a Premier League match in the capital.
