Bayern Munich failed in an attempt to sign Borussia Dortmund sensation Jadon Sancho, the club’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has revealed.
Sancho has pushed his way into the England senior reckoning with a spectacular start to the new Bundesliga season at Dortmund, contributing four goals and six assists in 11 appearances.
The 18-year-old winger is beginning to justify the hype that surrounded him in the summer of 2017, when he left Manchester City to join Dortmund in an £8 million deal.
A recent report in German newspaper Bild claimed that Bayern ruled themselves out of the race to sign Sancho back then because members of the club’s board were not convinced of his potential.
But according to Salihamidzic, it was Sancho and not Bayern who put an end to his chances of joining the Bundesliga giants.
“It is true that Bayern Munich wanted Jadon Sancho very well and therefore made him an offer that unfortunately was not accepted,” Salihamidzic told Bild.
Sancho’s form has helped Dortmund surge four points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table and seven ahead of Bayern, having beaten their rivals 3-2 at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday.
His form was recognised with a surprise first senior England call-up by Gareth Southgate for last month’s Uefa Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain, making his debut as a second-half substitute in a goalless draw in Rijeka.
Southgate has again included Sancho in his latest squad to face the United States in a Wayne Rooney Foundation friendly and Croatia in the Uefa Nations League, and the 18-year-old is widely expected to make his first England start at Wembley on Thursday.
“I think with a few players that have taken the decision to go and play in Europe this year, he's the most high profile and he's playing in an excellent team, playing in big matches and playing extremely well,” Southgate said of Sancho earlier this week.
“He's gained a lot of valuable experience this season and he's a player that really excites us. [In] midweek he was playing away in Atletico Madrid, and what a brilliant experience for him.
“We felt he adapted very well to our training last time and he's a player we're looking forward to watching in one of the games this week.”
