Jadon Sancho is continuing to turn heads with his incredible cameos for Borussia Dortmund.
The 18-year-old has yet to make his first start this season under new coach Lucien Favre, but after five assists in six Bundesliga appearances he cannot make a stronger claim for a starting berth.
In fact, the England Under-17 World Cup winner has created more goals than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues so far this season. That’s despite having played just 124 minutes, and average of 21 minutes a game.
Jadon Sancho is the top assist maker in Europe’s top five leagues this season after six games
Sancho, wearing the jersey of his opposite number, celebrates with his Dortmund team-mates
His latest impact from the bench saw him lay on the equaliser for Marco Reus as Dortmund fought their way back from 2-0 down against Bayer Leverkusen.
He also sent Paco Alcacer racing away for the fourth in stoppage time to complete a memorable turnaround.
His first assist, however, was the one that had tongues wagging. His turn of pace down the right flank left one defender for dead as he took a short throw from goalkeeper Roman Burki. Just 14.8 seconds and an exchange of passes with Reus later, the ball was in the back of the net.
His throughball for the Spaniard 25 minutes later at the BayArena saw him overtake the more established figures of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Dimitri Payet at the top of the creative charts.
The 18-year-old grabbed his first goal of the season against Nurnberg the weekend before last
He is in esteemed company then, and judging my his impressive first season in Dortmund, it is not something of a flash in the pan.
That included another memorable display against Leverkusen, this time at Signal Iduna Park, which saw him lay on two goals and grab his first professional strike as Dortmund all but secured Champions League football.
That was one of seven starts he made towards the end of the previous campaign, but Favre is keen to use him in bursts, an approach that appears to have had maximum effect.
‘Jadon is a very good player, I saw that immediately,’ said Favre in pre-season. ‘I like it when players take risks with the ball.’
After his role in the win over Bayer, Sancho admitted he is getting restless on the bench.
‘The coach keeps rotating so that’s how strong this team is,’ he said. ‘Obviously, I don’t want to be a sub – but if I keep on working hard hopefully I can get in the starting XI.’
His rise to stardom could have been playing out in front of Premier League crowds.
Sancho lifted the Under-17 World Cup with England back in 2017 and is tipped for big things
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak proudly announced before the beginning of last season that he was set to be promoted to Pep Guardiola’s squad alongside Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz.
When assurances over playing time weren’t given, Sancho was left out of City’s pre-season and plans and a £10million move to Dortmund was made.
There is a buy-back clause in his current deal, but for now City will have to look on in wonder along with the rest of Europe.