England manager Gareth Southgate has warned Borussia Dortmund ace, Jadon Sancho, that he needs to improve his off-field actions in order to fulfil his potential, according to a recent report in the Sun.
The Dortmund winger Sancho was fined 10,000 euros earlier this month after breaking coronavirus lockdown restrictions by getting a haircut at his home without a mask on and later tweeted about the sanction saying it was an ‘absolute joke’ before deleting his tweet.
Sancho, who has been heavily linked with a move away from Dortmund this summer, has received praise off late for his support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Dortmund winger revealed a vest after scoring a goal which read ‘Justice For George Floyd’ and has been in the news for his celebration.
England boss Southgate praised the youngster for his latest statements but reckons that there’s still room for improvement.
Speaking about Sancho, as cited in the Sun, Southgate said:
“He is still very young. He’s not going to get every decision right.”
“If I think about the photograph, he’s probably got to look after himself a little bit better in that sort of situation and not allow somebody to heighten their own fame by getting a picture with him, which has ended up with him being in a difficult position.”
“There’s a naivety of youth in some of the things that happen. But that’s a journey that most if not all players go on. There are very few 20 year olds that make the right decision every single time.”
“If I look through the squad, I worked with most of them at Under-21 level. I’ve been through all the pitfalls. He’s got a higher profile than most when they made some of those errors.”
“It’s going to be more difficult for him because any mistake he makes is going to be in a more high-profile environment than others players his age.”
“His development is in a really good direction. He’s at a club that are handling that very well. They’re giving him opportunity but they are also firm with him at the right times.”
“He’s improving on the pitch, he’s becoming more responsible off it. There is still a bit of a way to go with that. We’ve got to keep raising the bar and challenging in that area to make sure that we maximise his talent and he maximises his talent.”
While speaking about any intended move for Sancho away from Germany, Southgate said:
“I’m always available to players who want to speak or get advice about whatever areas of their life, but I don’t push that particularly when I am conscious that there’s a lot of noise around a player.”
“I don’t think it’s for me to tell him what to do. They should make their own decisions and that decision won’t affect or influence our thinking too much in his case anyway. The beauty of him playing at Dortmund is that he plays regularly.”
“He’s playing in a team that is expected to hit a certain level, that before this period had 80,000 fans every week, so the pressure of that, Champions League football, which is another bonus and the need to be challenging Bayern Munich all the way.”
“He’s playing for a good club. So there isn’t a downside for us if he stays with Dortmund at all, and if we see him in the Premier League then that brings different opportunities to see him in a different environment and to see how he adapts to that.”
“But the most important thing is that he keeps playing regularly and at his age that is key to him learning and improving.”
Sancho could be on his way to Manchester United this summer with links refusing to die down, however, he currently remains at Dortmund and continues his superb form for the Bundesliga outfit as things stand.