Sancho left home at 12 to pursue dreams... now he's England's new kid on the block

The first press conference with an England player born in this millennium had a distinctly modern feel, not least because an iPhone that had not been switched to silent managed to ruin sections of the recording for the broadcast media.

In fairness they did not miss much, given that Jadon Sancho was pretty much how you might expect an 18-year-old to be when suddenly faced with a phalanx of TV cameras, microphones and some grizzly-looking journalists.

‘Just take into account that he’s not done this before,’ the man from the FA politely pointed out, before a TV reporter did his usual thing of addressing the England footballer as ‘mate’. Given he was comfortably old enough to be his father, it must have made young Sancho mildly uneasy.

While Sancho was not as garrulous as a more senior professional might be when invited to join the national senior squad, he displayed a nice mix of innocence and youthful arrogance.

‘As a player I’m a bit tricky, direct, confident obviously,’ he said. ‘I believe in myself in one versus one situations.’

He has such a young face one imagines it will be a good while yet before he stops being asked for ID. But he was smart enough to duck any difficult questions about the circumstances that persuaded him to leave Manchester City and move to Borussia Dortmund last year, and fairly unfazed by just about every other question that was put to him.

Indeed he amused his audience when he was asked if there was a particular player he had idolised as a child. Ronaldinho was the man, he said.

‘I used to like watching him on YouTube,’ he revealed, which certainly made those of us who were actually there in Japan to see the Brazilian beat David Seaman from 40-odd yards feel rather old.

Sancho, of course, was only two in 2002 and will have no recollection of that particular World Cup. In fact, he said, the World Cup in Russia was the first he had watched properly because access to a TV had been limited in previous years.

Not for one second did he imagine he would make the transition from fan watching on TV to someone who receives calls from Gareth Southgate quite so quickly.

‘I was a bit surprised, to be fair,’ he said with a broad grin.

‘I’m so young and still have so much to learn. When I got the call, at training, I told my parents straight away. They were delighted for me and I couldn’t stop smiling for the whole day.

‘I’m just grateful he’s seen my progress in the Bundesliga. I’m really thankful.’

Playing abroad is a bold move for any English footballer and a path not that well-travelled. But to move to Germany when he was as young as he was took some courage even if his father Sean, having already moved with him to Manchester in 2015, joined him in Dortmund.

In fact, Sancho first left the family home in Kennington, south London aged 12 to stay in digs at the Harefield Academy in Uxbridge. He played for Watford boys from nine to 14 before City took him north.

It is the kind of courage Southgate greatly admires, and something the England manager feels more of his players need to consider doing if it improves their chances of regular first-team football.

The story goes that Sancho decided to leave City when the club were unwilling to give him assurances about progression into Pep Guardiola’s side.

The move has certainly paid off, given he is playing Champions League football for a side who are top of the Bundesliga.

Add to that the fact that no one in Europe’s main five leagues has provided more assists for goals this season and one can see why Southgate and Steve Holland, who was sent to Germany to scout the player, have drafted him into the international set-up already.

Southgate will certainly like the way Sancho responded this week to the question of whether such a rapid rise, and the interest he is generating as one of the most exciting young footballers in the country, created an unwelcome amount of pressure.

‘I don’t feel the pressure at all,’ he said. ‘I’m here to do one job: to play football. That’s it.’

He is also trying to learn German but admits it’s a bit of a struggle. Invited to express how excited he is to be in the England squad in his new language, he declined. Asked if he liked German cuisine, he said he was partial to the occasional schnitzel.

‘I like Germany a lot,’ he said. ‘The culture is different. The fans have so much passion for the game and support me every week.

‘My focus was getting minutes as a player and playing first-team, which is what I’ve done. It’s a dream come true, so I’m really grateful.’

The move to Germany was, he said, not half as daunting as some might think, after that previous experience of moving away from the family home.

‘Having moved away from home so young, it was only taking one step further to move outside England,’ he said.

‘Seeing friends... I can’t just go down the road and see my friends. Leaving my mum and my sisters behind. I miss them a lot.

‘But I wanted to do what was best for me, and that was what I did. It was very tough, especially for my mum.

‘But if you really believe in yourself, you have to do what’s best for you. It’s what I want to do long-term: to be a professional footballer.

‘Not everyone is comfortable moving from home. If you’re ready to play abroad and you believe in yourself, why not? I’d recommend it.

‘I’m happy to be a part of Dortmund. I have to say thank you to the manager (Lucien Favre) for playing me, and trusting me. It’s a noisy stadium, 80,000 people. It’s not every day that you get to play in front of 80,000.’

With England due to play Croatia in an empty stadium tomorrow, an international debut is certainly something you can see him taking in his stride.