Jadon Sancho has scored 14 goals and set up 16 this season for Borussia Dortmund as he continues to be linked with a move to Chelsea.
A player impressing in the Bundesliga and being the centre of speculation about a move to the Premier League – sound familiar?
Shinji Kagawa and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are two prime examples of this, and two instances where it has not worked out in the Premier League.
Both of these players were signed by Manchester United with big expectations, but both of them were shipped off not long after.
Kagawa came to Old Trafford with visions of the Japanese playmaker to be the cog between midfield and attack that made United tick.
However, Kagawa played 57 times in all competitions for United, before he re-joined Borussia Dortmund.
Sir Alex Ferguson signed the playmaker for United – so, when the club legend announced his retirement in 2013 – this would prove to be a real blow for Kagawa.
Ferguson was one of the greatest man-managers to ever grace a dugout and him leaving was a blow to the whole United squad.
David Moyes came in and Kagawa did not start a game in the Premier League until September 28 under his new boss.
Kagawa only made 18 appearances in the Premier League during the 2013/14 season – scoring no goals – with 14 starts to his name.
United seemed to have a slight confusion to what Kagawa’s strengths were and played him in various positions across the midfield and attack.
There was no consistency with what was happening to Kagawa, and for a player coming into the Premier League for the first time, this is far from an ideal situation to try and settle into your new club.
There was a massive factor to why Kagawa’s time at Old Trafford didn’t work out – the style of play – which was completely different to what he was used to at Dortmund.
The Japan playmaker came from a Dortmund side, who are tireless and starving to try and regain possession of the football, and he went to a United side who play with quick build-up play, but off-the-ball, are nowhere near as aggressive as the Bundesliga giants.
This is where the similarity with Mkhitaryan comes in, with the Armenian playmaker suffering a similar fate to Kagawa at United.
Mkhitaryan was expected to go onto be one of United’s strongest attackers and set the Premier League alight.
Jose Mourinho brought Mkhitaryan to Old Trafford in 2016 and stated his style “suited the Premier League”.
However, the 31-year-old struggled to cement a first-team spot with United and eventually moved to Arsenal as part of the Alexis Sanchez deal.
This could be down to the different sort of managers Mkhitaryan had to deal with – at Dortmund – he had Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel, both known to be two of the best man-managers in European football.
Mourinho was next at United, and he is known more for his tactical nous rather than his ability to manage different personalities in a squad.
This season itself proves the sort of player Mkhitaryan can be, now with AS Roma, scoring six times in 13 appearances in the Serie A.
It’s up to Chelsea, or whoever lands Sancho this summer, to ensure these mistakes do not happen again with the talented 20-year-old.
The winger is a goal-scoring machine and has been ever since he joined Dortmund from Manchester City.
He’s close to being the full package, and at just 20, it’s frightening how high his potential is.
However, there have been some cases of talent from the Bundesliga being wasted in the Premier League, should Chelsea land Sancho - it’s important they learn from said cases.
