By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Jadon Sancho seems aware of the challenge lying ahead of him.
The 18-year-old London-born football professional is not only expected to replace his team's leader and best performer Marco Reus, but also to deal with a great deal of attention as all eyes will be on him when he returns to his hometown in the jersey of Borussia Dortmund.
For some seconds, the former Manchester City youngster appears like an ordinary fan getting excited when talking about his hero. The 18-year-old is taking a deep breath while a broad smile is running over his face.
"Marco Reus," he said full of admiration in advance of Dortmund's last-16-round duel of the Champions League against Premier League outfits Tottenham Hotspurs. "He is my idol, he is someone to look up to."
Sancho says it is a dream playing together with a unique player like Reus. "It is somehow crazy to be in the same team, to be next to him on the pitch," he emphasized. "All of my friends can't stop talking about him."
This time, he will have to survive without the support of Reus as the German international is sidelined due to a muscle injury. Undoubtedly, he can do so. Meanwhile, some say that he has become equally vital to Dortmund's game.
"We would love to have Marco around, as he is the team's undisputed leader. His presence is causing concern among every opponent," Kehl said about Reus who was involved in 28 goals in 27 games and named the best player of the first half of the Bundesliga season.
"Other key players will have to take over, it is not only Jadon's job although he has proven his spectacular abilities," Kehl said talking about experienced forces such as former Chinese Super League performer Axel Witsel, Danish midfielder Thomas Delaney and Swiss goalkeeper Roman Buerki.
Despite lacking Reus' experience, Sancho's story is causing widespread attention in Britain as he has developed into one of the Bundesliga's attractions after joining Dortmund in summer 2017. Signing young English talents who have found their paths to the first team blocked back home has become a trend in the German league for several reasons.
Thanks to a slew of lucrative TV deals, Premier League clubs have considerably more financial resources than those of other global football leagues, with most Bundesliga clubs unable to compete on the same level. But while this has increased the Premier League's attractiveness for top international stars, but makes it harder for young prospects to break through into the first team.
One notable example is Sancho, who has blazed something of a trail in the Bundesliga for English youngsters.
"He has developed significantly when it comes to personality and as a footballer," Borussia's sports director and former professional Sebastian Kehl commented considering how special "his feelings must be when returning to England in our shirt." Kehl said he is confident Sancho will get along as he is a strong character.
Former German international Lothar Matthaeus believes Sancho "won't have problems with the expectations. He will be focused on Tottenham having fun to play on English soil. Youngsters like him are well prepared for challenges like that," the 150-time capped Matthaeus said.
Sancho seems to be looking forward to his demanding journey despite the enormous tasks ahead.
He admitted to being sad about missing Reus but spoke about "the special feelings every footballer has when entering the pitch for a Champions League game and listen to that hymn," adding he can't believe that he gets "to be part of such a competition."
