Bundesliga

2024-01-12T10:15:00Z

How will Dortmund line up with Sancho and Maatsen?

Jadon Sancho is back at Borussia Dortmund until the end of the season.
Jadon Sancho is back at Borussia Dortmund until the end of the season.

Borussia Dortmund have sensationally re-signed Jadon Sancho from Manchester United, whilst adding Chelsea's Ian Maatsen to their ranks. How will Edin Terzić now line his side up?

Sancho will spend the remainder of the campaign back on loan at his spiritual home from Man Utd. England may be his homeland, but it is in Germany where he put himself on the footballing map.

Sancho enjoyed 50 goals, 64 assists and two major honours from his 137 games in his first BVB spell, and player and club alike will be optimistic that he can rediscover his best form back at the Signal Iduna Park.

Watch: Sancho returns to Dortmund

Maatsen joins as a versatile young player, meanwhile, one just as happy playing at left-back as he is in attacking midfield. A Netherlands U21 international, he gives Terzić options at either end of the pitch. 

How will Die Schwarzgelben play with both on board? bundesliga.com takes a closer look…

Dortmund used a 4-2-3-1 in 10 of their first 16 Bundesliga games this season.

Dortmund went undefeated for the first nine games of the season, but dropped 10 of a possible 18 points after losing 4-0 to Bayern Munich in November's Klassiker - their first home defeat for more than a year. There was no unravelling in Europe, though, with BVB topping a UEFA Champions League 'Group of Death' which included Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Newcastle. 

Terzić started with a back three in victory over Wolfsburg in September, but invariably used a 4-2-3-1 in the Hinrunde. Last season's Torjägerkanone winner Niclas Füllkrug has found his feet at the point of the attack, the former Werder Bremen man keeping Sébastien Haller out of the team with five goals and five assists from his 14 Bundesliga games.

The team's most potent attacking asset has been Julian Brandt, though, the former Bayer Leverkusen man contributing 12 direct goal involvements from his 16 games, often from the left of the three behind Füllkrug, with former captain Marco Reus still seeing plenty of minutes at No.10. 

At the back, one-time Bayern and Germany cornerstone Niklas Süle has found himself playing second fiddle to Mats Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck.

Jadon Sancho and Ian Maatsen are exciting additions to Dortmund's first XI.

But Dortmund can now be expected to make some changes in the Rückrunde. Terzić has increasingly experimented with a 4-3-3 in recent weeks, and in Sancho, he has the perfect player to occupy a wide attacking berth - be it on the left or the right.

Sancho's confidence may have taken a hit at Old Trafford, but this is a player who tallied double digits for goals and assists across his last three seasons with Dortmund, and his spell-binding speed and skill remain intact at just 23 years of age.

On the opposite flank could be a player hoping to follow in his footsteps at Dortmund in former Manchester City academy player and current England U21 international Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, who was growing in influence heading into the winter break. Donyell Malen, Gio Reyna and Karim Adeyemi (when fit) provide fierce competition.

Needless to say, Dortmund are well stocked in the final third, so Maatsen is likely to find himself used at left-back. Ramy Bensebaini hasn't quite made the position his own since joining from Borussia Mönchengladbach last summer, sharing playing time with Julian Ryerson, a natural right-footer. The Algerian is also away at the Africa Cup of Nations in the first weeks after the season resumes.

Whether Dortmund can fly up the table as quickly as Sancho and Maatsen can fly up the wings remains to be seen, but it will be an exciting watch regardless.

Related news
Discover more

Getting real-time match statistics is as easy as:

  1. Download the Bundesliga app
  2. Click on your favourite match
  3. Get all match stats directly as it happens!