England's record when picking ‘bolters’ in their squad for major tournaments is shabbier than breakfast the morning after a stag night. And Jadon Sancho’s resurgent form, on his second coming at , may yet turn out to be a mirage in the desert. But if the outcast continues to be energised by the famous Yellow Wall of noise, will have to wrestle with a familiar dilemma: Flavour of the month from the specials board or staying a la carte? The last of Sancho’s 23
England caps came back in October 2021, against a pub team called Andorra, three months after the £73million move to United he called a “dream come true.” Instead of a marquee signing, he turned out to be an auxiliary bell-tent in the Old Trafford campsite, overshadowed and underwhelming as Cristiano Ronaldo’s encore commanded the limelight before ’s reign petered out. Then came a public falling-out with Erik ten Hag, and Sancho’s unwise claim that he had been made a “scapegoat” for United’s spluttering form. Until his loan move back to Dortmund in January, ending 140 days without a competitive appearance, he looked more like a greyhound left in the traps than a bolter. Southgate may only have been offering Sancho a fig leaf rather than an olive branch, but the door remains ajar. “For every player that’s not with us, there is always an opportunity if they can seize the form and have the right level of performance,” said the Three Lions coach. Despite the veritable cluster of crown jewels at Southgate’s disposal this summer - it is hard to envisage Sancho getting a game ahead of Phil Foden, Cole Palmer or Bukayo Saka - there could yet be a vacancy for an impact player off the bench to stretch the game in wide areas. But woe betide England managers who are seduced by flights of fancy. As Sven-Goran Eriksson discovered in 2006, there is no such thing as a free hunch in international
Football. On the final countdown to the
World Cup in
Germany, where England are 7-2 favourites with the bookies to win Euro 2024 this summer, dear old Svennis appeared to have watered down his choice of fourth striker, behind Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Peter Crouch, to a straight shoot-out between in-form Charlton forward Darren Bent and Jermain Defoe. The Daily Star is now on
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Premier League minute for
Arsenal. Walcott was sitting his driving test theory exam when Eriksson’s hand was revealed. It’s a good
Job he wasn’t behind the wheel. Sancho would not be such a gamble, based on his previous tournament experience at Euro 2020, where he was one of the three unfortunates to miss out in the penalty shoot-out against
Italy in the final. And it would be reassuring to see him play with a smile on his face again in an England shirt. He cannot be allowed to join the cast of talents left to wither on the vine, and goals in each of his last two appearances, against Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga and PSV Eindhoven in the
Champions League, suggest he is far from a spent force. “Ever since I’ve come back (to Dortmund), I’ve felt at home and I’m just happy to be back on the pitch again,” he said. “My goal is to be happy again, to help the team, to get them back in the top three and qualify for the Champions League.”