Borussia Dortmund wasted no time reaping the benefits of Jadon Sancho’s return to the Bundesliga, with the England international making an instant impact.
Sancho provided assists in his first two matches 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 young player’s resurgence.
Holmes-Lewis reminisced about their shared experiences at the London Youth Games alongside mutual friend Reiss Nelson – who now plays for Arsenal – and highlighted the importance of supportive relationships in football.
Regarding his connection with Sancho and Nelson, Holmes-Lewis admitted he has ‘always been close’ to both Reiss and Jadon.
He discussed the importance of having people around you who you trust in the footballing world: ‘It’s not easy for them because they’ve left their communities, they’re in the spotlight, and the lack of support they sometimes get from the clubs – because, you know, they have these vast amounts of money – they end up coming back to the people they trust.’
Reflecting on Sancho’s development alongside players like Nelson and Ian Poveda, the Colombia international, Holmes-Lewis noted the value of nurturing talent in environments conducive to individual expression, such as street football.
Holmes-Lewis acknowledged efforts by academies to replicate the dynamic nature of street football but stressed the irreplaceable elements of those grassroots experiences. He highlighted the necessity of maintaining opportunities for young players to develop creativity and resilience.
When asked for advice to offer young footballers, Holmes-Lewis added: ‘I would say keep those trusted people around you, people that are going to hold you accountable and give you the hard truths.
Sancho’s father had asked the coach his opinion on the move to Germany the first time he 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 stint, and now you see him returning to Dortmund and just having a feel for the game again, being supported in a way that maybe he isn’t being supported at Man United, but you’re seeing now how he’s expressing himself on the pitch and he’s playing the game like he loves the game again.’ He continued.
On the importance of maintaining a love for the game beyond 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’m getting paid for it, but I want to enjoy it at the same time’.
Having opened a new 4G pitch on the Aylesbury Estate in South London – where Reiss Nelson and Holmes-Lewis both grew up, they both expressed rhe importance of street footballers to ‘produce the best generational talent’.
Referencing Matthew Le Tissier, Paul Gascoigne and Wayne Rooney as some of the best ‘street footballers’ in the game, estates and cage football provided unique environments for successful young talents to 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 are playing on those pitches and expressing themselves on a day-to-day basis.
‘I think with the small cages that we used to have, those small-sided games that Reiss and Jadon and players that I’ve coached have played, you had to be able to manipulate the ball just to be able to survive in those games with the physical element. The mixed gender, mixed age groups, you had to look after yourself.’
Dortmund travel to Bayern Munich for their next Bundesliga clash on Saturday, while Manchester United visit Brentford for a Premier League clash in the capital.
