JADON Sancho showed that there is another way. Until a few years ago, until Sancho swapped Manchester City for Borussia Dortmund, English youngsters had been notoriously wary of foreign lands.
The country’s next generation consistently bashed their head against a glass ceiling with little chance of breakthrough. Sancho recognised this and found a place where there is no ceiling, where youngsters are given a chance. Now 20, Sancho has a couple seasons of elite level football under his belt and is widely considered among Europe’s best young players.
A mega-money move to Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid are some other super-club beckons, whether it materialises this summer or not. Unsurprisingly, Sancho’s success has set a precedent. Keanan Bennetts swapped Tottenham Hotspur for Borussia Monchengladbach, Ademola Lookman left Everton for RB Leipzig and Rabbi Matonda joined Schalke from Manchester City. There have been others and there will be more, but Bukayo Saka should resist the temptation to join their ranks.
He is the next English youngster earmarked for a Bundesliga move with Dortmund reportedly interested in taking advantage of a contract standoff between Arsenal and Saka. The Gunners remain confident of keeping the 18-year-old, but the longer negotiations continue the more likely it seems that he will end up in Germany.
For Saka, though, the Bundesliga wouldn’t be the best place for him to grow. It wouldn’t be a bad place, but he stands a better chance of reaching the top of the sport at the Emirates Stadium than in Germany. At this point, putting pen to paper on a new contract would be the best thing for his future.
While there is something to be said about the Bundesliga’s youth-friendly environment, it’s the clubs’ willingness to give young players a chance that makes it such a good place to learn and develop. Saka, however, is already in the first team picture at Arsenal. He need not move anywhere else for game minutes.
This is a player who has made 18 Premier League appearances this season, someone who started six of the Gunners’ eight Europa League games. Saka has carved out a role for himself at left back having been converted from a winger, giving Arsenal something that they previously lacked. Indeed, his drive and energy has become an asset to Mikel Arteta.
Borussia Dortmund are eyeing left-back Bukayo Saka amid ongoing Arsenal contract situation.
( The Mirror) pic.twitter.com/54mKmwd1wE
— Jollof Sports (@JollofSports) April 26, 2020
“We try to put him in the position where we can surround him with the right players in the right areas,” Arteta explained after a particularly impressive performance by Saka against Olympiacos in the Europa League. “He’s not a full-back. He has a lot of courage to make decisions in the final third.”
That Saka is a winger only makes him more influential at full back. While the teenager undoubtedly must work on the defensive side of his game, he is a genuine force going forward. With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Saka on the same wing, the Gunners are capable of causing real damage.
From Alex Iwobi to Jack Wilshere, Joel Campbell to Kieran Gibbs, Arsenal’s academy efforts over the past decade or so haven’t been as fruitful as they would have liked. Those in charge at the Emirates Stadium must surely look enviously at the young talent coming through at Chelsea and ponder why they haven’t been able to produce such high calibre players themselves.
In Saka, however, they boast a high calibre youngster of their own. He embodies the direction Arsenal wish to head in. Saka is young, homegrown and hungry, reflecting the values the Gunners must instil in their squad if they are to become a force to be reckoned with again. But Saka must also recognise what Arsenal can do for him, not just what he is doing for them.
