PSG v Dortmund: Rejuvenated Jadon Sancho aims to propel BVB into Champions League final

From first-team exile at Manchester United to being 90 minutes away from playing in the Uefa Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund, it would be fair to say that this has been a season of the unexpected for Jadon Sancho.

Dortmund face Paris Saint-Germain in the French capital on Tuesday having secured a 1-0 first-leg win when Sancho earned rave reviews for his display. Former England and Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves describing Sancho's performance as "outrageous", adding that he "out-performed the best player in the world" in Kylian Mbappe.

Back in September, Sancho's already stop-start United career had ground to a complete halt after a public falling out with manager Erik ten Hag, who dropped the England winger from the match-day squad that would go on to lose 3-1 at Arsenal.

Ten Hag had cited his poor attitude in training, which Sancho denied on a social media post calling the claims "completely untrue" and that he had been made "a scapegoat". The Dutchman in turn would banish the player from training with the first team and demand an apology that never arrived.

Whatever the rights or wrongs on either side, Sancho last kicked a ball in anger for United in August's 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest and was left training on his own at the club academy until January, when former club Borussia Dortmund came calling and a six-month loan deal was completed.

Sancho spent four seasons with the Bundesliga club from 2017 – moving to United for €85 million in August 2021 – having previously been a Manchester City academy player.

The winger's record at Dortmund was impressive, scoring 50 goals in 137 appearances, and Sancho made clear the move "felt like coming home" after a tough spell back in England.

“I can’t