The remarkable stats that prove Sancho is among football's elite

No Erling Haaland, no problem. At least that was the case for Borussia Dortmund at the weekend. Lucien Favre's side bounced back from their disappointing midweek Klassiker loss at the hands of runaway leaders Bayern Munich with aplomb on Sunday, trouncing basement boys Paderborn 6-1. 

It wasn't all plain sailing for Dortmund, of course, with the scores level at 0-0 at the break as Paderborn remained steadfast to frustrate the title challengers in their hopes of earning a positive result. Once Thorgan Hazard broke the hosts' resolve 10 minutes after the interval, however, the floodgates opened. Dortmund suffered a minor scare as Une Hunemeier halved the deficit from the spot with a little over 15 minutes to play for the home side, but all in all; the visitors made light work of their accomodating hosts. 

The star of the show, in case you may not be aware, was Jadon Sancho. Back in the starting XI at the expense of the injured Haaland, the England international didn't look quite up to speed in the opening 45 minutes. He made up for the that in a barnstorming second half display, netting his first ever career hat-trick and totting up another perfect 10 performance, his third since the start of the 2017/18 season, more than any other Bundesliga player. 

Favre has resisted the temptation to bring Sancho straight back into the starting XI following the Bundesliga's restart last month, instead favouring a setup with Julian Brandt and Hazard behind Haaland, yet the England international gave yet another example of his quality with a man of the match performance on Sunday and a timely reminder of the reasons behind huge interest in securing his services. 

It's reported that both Sancho and Dortmund have a gentleman's agreement that will allow the player to leave the club provided their €120m valuation of the 20-year-old is met. If Sunday's showing is anything to go by, they'd be allowing Sancho to leave on the cheap. Despite his tender years, the attacker is putting up world class numbers for Borussia Dortmund this season. 

Only Europe's top scorer Robert Lewandowski (8.09) has a better WhoScored rating than Sancho (7.83) in the Bundesliga this season, while the latter's 17 goals and 16 assists means he has had a direct hand in more goals (33) than any other player in Germany's top tier this term. Meanwhile, only Thomas Muller (18) has provided more assists than Sancho (16) in Europe's top five leagues this season with the England international the first player to provide double figures for both goals and assists in Europe's top five leagues in 2019/20. 

While fans were desperate to see Sancho in action following the Bundesliga's return, Favre managed his situation well and was rewarded with a standout display at Paderborn. Yet was Sunday's showing the one that proved Sancho is worth all the hassle? There's no denying that the in-demand Englishman has put in a host of exceptional showings in Germany and his value has risen exponentially as a result. 

Yet Sancho hit the back of the net with all three shots at Paderborn and could easily have had an assist having made five key passes, that his third best return in a Bundesliga match this season. The Paderborn backline had no answer to his ability to drive forward in possession as he completed three dribbles and, crucially, garnered his best pass success rate (92%) in a German top-flight match this term. 

What was vital about Sancho's perfect 10 showing this weekend, though, was the pressure to immediately succeed upon his return to the starting XI coupled with the fact the watching world is feasting on as much Bundesliga action as possible. Dortmund were out of sync against Bayern Munich last week and looked to be headed for another frustrating 90 minutes on Sunday. They couldn't rely on Haaland conjuring up a bit of magic in the 18-yard box and it meant Sancho needed to take matters into his own hands to guarantee three vital points to keep Dortmund's slim title hopes alive. And while Paderborn may foot the Bundesliga, they haven't been pushovers since the league returned having conceded one goal in the previous three league outings. 

Sancho wasn't fazed by the requirements set out by Favre and it's this mental fortitude that has helped him not only shine in Germany, but resulted in rumours of a multi-million pound return to England. Despite his tender years, Sancho is already a player who deservedly warrants such a hefty valuation and more showings like that seen against Paderborn will only see his stock rise further. 

It is only a matter of time before Sancho is truly considered an elite talent, even if he doesn't leave Borussia Dortmund this summer, but, the numbers suggest he is already deserving of the tag. He is having a direct hand in a goal every hour and has provided either a goal or an assist in all but six league matches this season. These are top quality returns from Sancho and his hat-trick, rendering him the youngest player to reach 30 goals in Bundesliga history, and goal contributing exploits have only served to propel him further into the spotlight.