Jadon Sancho has said he is looking forward to play with “a smile on his face” after joining Borussia Dortmund on loan from Manchester United for the remainder of the season.
The 23-year-old has been banished from the United first team since publicly hitting out at the manager Erik ten Hag after not being included in the squad for the loss at Arsenal in September.
The Bundesliga club are set to pay a loan fee of €4 million and part of Sancho’s salary. The winger, who spent four seasons with Dortmund from 2017 before joining United, said: “When I walked into the changing room today, it felt like coming home. I know the club inside out, I’ve always been very close to the fans here and I’ve never lost contact with the people in charge.
“I can’t wait to see my team-mates again, get out on the pitch, play football with a smile on my face, get assists, score goals and help the club qualify for the Champions League.”
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Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl said: “Jadon is an absolute difference-maker and I’m looking forward to seeing him in black and yellow again soon. He knows this city, Signal Iduna Park, our fans and our club.
“Even though he hasn’t played any competitive games in recent months, we’re sure that he’ll quickly settle back in with us, find his best form and help us to achieve our season objectives with his qualities.”
Dortmund have had an up-and-down season, winning a difficult Champions League group containing Paris St-Germain, Newcastle and Milan, but falling behind Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. They are fifth, 15 points behind the leaders, Leverkusen. The Bundesliga restarts on Friday and Dortmund face Darmstadt away on Saturday.
Tottenham centre back Eric Dier will undergo a medical in Germany on Thursday ahead of completing a €4 million move to Bayern Munich.
Spurs have been willing to listen to offers for Dier since the summer and the defender has started only once under boss Ange Postecoglou this season.
Dier, who only had six months left on his current deal, will now leave England and embark on a new challenge alongside former team-mate Harry Kane at Munich.
Postecoglou made clear at the beginning of the campaign that Dier could leave Tottenham, but he remained following the summer transfer window and eventually made his first appearance in the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in November.
He was handed a start in Spurs’ next fixture at Wolves, but has only made two substitute outings since and was absent from Friday’s 1-0 win over Burnley in the FA Cup.
Postecoglou insisted it was down to a minor injury, but Bayern had already registered an interest in Dier by that point and they have now reached an agreement with Tottenham over his signing.
Dier has now arrived in Munich for a medical and will leave Spurs just short of a decade’s service.
Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel confirmed Dier’s imminent signing during his pre-match press conference ahead of Friday’s home fixture with Hoffenheim.
“Things can always go wrong at the final moment. He’s in Munich and we’re trying to finalise the deal,” Tuchel told reporters.
“He’d be a good alternative for the squad. We’ll have to wait and see with everything else, but he’s in the city.
“Eric has become a specialist at centre back. He can play either centre back position and in a back three. He often used to play in midfield. We’ll see whether it happens or not.”
It continues a busy week for Tottenham with Timo Werner joining on loan on Tuesday and Genoa centre back Radu Dragusin expected to complete a move to the club on Thursday with Djed Spence heading in the other direction. – Guardian and agencies
