Pep Guardiola Suggests Jadon Sancho Return to Manchester City Unlikely

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has suggested former Citizens starlet Jadon Sancho is unlikely to return to the Etihad Stadium while he's at the club's helm.

Sancho, 18, left City for Borussia Dortmund in 2017 after growing disillusioned with his chances in Manchester, and he's gone on to enjoy swift success in Germany. The winger recently received his first England cap, and when asked at Friday's press conference whether a return was possible, Guardiola said, via Sky Sports:

His comments regarding Sancho's possible City future under "a new manager" seem conclusive, and Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News described his parting with Guardiola 14 months ago as "an acrimonious split."

The teenager departed for around £8 million but is now worth more than 10 times that, according to The Sun's Dave Fraser, who wrote that he'll cost Premier League suitors £100 million.

That figure is likely exaggerated, but the England international has been prolific enough in the Bundesliga to warrant talk of a move elsewhere. Sancho has eight assists and one goal in 10 appearances for Dortmund this season but only recently earned his first start of the league campaign—in his seventh outing.

Nevertheless, Goal's Sam Lee has taken a more grounded approach to Sancho's fast progress this season and recently said it's too early to envision a return to City, where the competition is so steep:

It's uncommon for British youngsters to move abroad in the hopes of furthering their development. Language barriers are a concern, and young players also stand to earn more as prospects in the English football system, where wages are generally higher.

It's even less common for British youngsters to excel quite as Sancho has, and the past year-and-a-half looks to have been extremely positive for a bright talent, who seems to have a good grasp of his worth, via Goal:

City do have one England up-and-comer with what seem like genuine first-team aspirations under Guardiola, as Phil Foden will hope to fight the opinion that homegrown starlets can't succeed at the Etihad.

There may be specifics regarding Sancho's departure that will remain unknown, details that have led Guardiola to put up such a resistance against the notion of the player coming back into the fold while he's there.

In any case, the two parties appear to be getting along just fine since parting, with City having run to arguably the most dominant Premier League title triumph in May. Sancho, meanwhile, has excelled as he undoubtedly would not have had he remained with the club.

Sancho spent only two years with City before leaving in 2015—he was previously in Watford's academy for eight years—and it may simply be the player isn't inclined to return himself.