How Dortmund went from being fed up of Jadon Sancho being late for training to verge of bringing back £73m Man Utd star

BORUSSIA DORTMUND are in a crisis — and they are longing for the return of an old acquaintance.

The arrival of Jadon Sancho is supposed to save the season for a team who are fifth in the Bundesliga, 15 points off leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

Jadon Sancho is on the brink of returning to Borussia Dortmund from Manchester UnitedGetty

The winger left Dortmund in 2021 after four years with the German giantsPA

When the Englishman played for Dortmund from 2017 to 2021, he showed exactly what they currently lack. He had pace, a goal threat, courage and was decisive on the ball.

Also, he was a big fan favourite due to his style of play. When Manchester United offered £73million, Dortmund had no choice but to part with him.

The club’s business model is designed to sign young players, develop them and sell them at a high price.

However, Dortmund’s management also took a critical view of Sancho at the time. According to reports from the club, he would sit in front of the games console late into the night. He was sometimes late for training.

Many at Dortmund also criticised that he flew to his home country on a private jet immediately after matches.

For this reason, the bosses at Dortmund — until recently — were not sure that Sancho’s return really made sense.

Dortmund have often brought players back in the past but they have generally not been a success, namely Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich) and Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United).

But there was an exception in Mats Hummels (Bayern) and it worked. So the club is now hoping for the same effect with Sancho as with Hummels.

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Dortmund are on their winter break in Marbella and they are hoping Sancho, 23, will join them this week.

Club bosses are optimistic that this surprise reunion will work.