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Jadon Sancho has the world at his feet - will he dismantle Spurs on home soil?

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Sancho ready to shine at Wembley

Jadon Sancho is rapidly emerging as one of the hottest young prospects in world football, with his performances for Borussia Dortmund continuing to grab the headlines each week. The Bundesliga giants currently lead the way in the German top tier - five points ahead of Bayern Munich after 21 matches - with their success this term largely down to the scintillating form of the exciting young wide man.

The former Manchester City academy starlet, who traded life in the north west of England for the north west of Germany in 2017, has notched eight goals and registered 13 assists in all competitions for Lucien Favre's men this time out.

His exploits since arriving in Germany have not only gained him copious amounts of interest at club level, but also saw him called up to Gareth Southgate's England squad for the first time in October, where he featured off the bench in the Three Lions' 0-0 stalemate with Croatia.

Sancho returned home earlier this week, and will once again step foot on England's hallowed turf when his side take on Tottenham in the Champions League this evening. Amazingly, this will be the teenager's second appearance at Wembley in just three months following his appearance for the national side in November's 3-0 win over the USA.

Tonight's encounter means much more than an international friendly which seemed to double up as a testimonial for Wayne Rooney however, with the outcome deciding the fate of both clubs' future in Europe. For Sancho, it's yet another opportunity for him to showcase his talents at the very highest level, with the expectant nation excitedly watching on in anticipation.

Sancho continues to show maturity beyond his years

In his first full season regularly playing alongside the likes of Marco Reus and Thomas Delaney in Borussia Dortmund's first team, Sancho has shown that he is a mature player, not only blessed with raw talent but also comfortable being relied upon as one of the key aspects to the German's title challenge and success in the Champions League.

There's no doubt that he is Dortmund's best, most creative force at the moment, so heavily depended on to pull it out of the bag when his side need him most. Sancho has shown maturity beyond his years this term, taking his new found responsibilities in his stride, focussing solely on his development as a player whilst also driving his team on to reach the top of the Bundesliga ahead of Bayern Munich - the club who have dominated proceedings in the German top flight for the past six seasons.

Tonight he will hope to be the difference as his side go up against a depleted Tottenham side struggling with injuries, but with Dortmund's talisman Marco Reus also missing this evening's encounter with a thigh injury sustained in the German Cup defeat to Werder Bremen last week, Sancho will once again be the player entrusted to cause Mauricio Pochettino's side problems in their own back yard.

If the teenager can handle the pressure on the biggest stage possible and cut through Spurs' resilient back line tonight, then you'd struggle to find anyone arguing with you if you were to say that he's going right to the very, very top; very, very soon.

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Sancho has become Dortmund's most influential player this season.

Biggest game to date for the teenager

Sancho's career could have taken a different turn in 2017, as Tottenham tried to acquire his services as part of the deal which saw full-back Kyle Walker move to Manchester City for £50 million. City rejected Spurs' proposal, as they didn't want the young wide man joining another team in the Premier League, which proves just what a talent the 18-year-old is and how much potential he showed whilst at the Etihad.

Speaking to the British media at Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park last week, Sancho explains just how much the tie means to him and his family; he's ordered 30 tickets for his nearest and dearest so that they can watch him from a selection of the 90,000 seats available at this fantastically overwhelming venue.

"It's a great feeling," he says, wide-eyed and brimming with an overall sense of prosperity. "I'll be playing in front of my family, which is something I've always wanted to do since I was a young boy. Now I'm able to do it and hopefully I can show London people what I'm about."

Born and raised in South London, tonight's game - which takes place just twelve miles away from his place of birth in Camberwell - is the biggest of Sancho's to date. He's got nothing to prove, everyone knows what a huge talent he is, but it's his debut in the Champions League on English soil, a match that he would have foreseen played out in the Sky Blue colours of Manchester City just three years ago.

Instead, he will take to the field facing a Premier League side rather than representing one, hoping to repay the faith shown in him by Borussia Dortmund this season by dismantling a Spurs side who last season did the double over them in the group stages of the competition.

Sancho's confidence is refreshing to see

There's a reason why the whole of England is talking about Sancho right now; he's not just grabbing attention because he's done something different to most players and tested himself in a foreign country at such a young age, though that is an extremely positive tribute to the youngsters character.

It's because, simply enough, he is outrageously good at playing football. Anybody who has a Twitter account will, whether they like it or not, be subjected to a 30 second clip of the 18-year-old's lightening quick feet bamboozle a helpless defender on a Saturday or Sunday evening, retweeted onto their timeline by one of the thousands of admirers this young man currently has.

You simply cannot get away from Sancho and his seemingly endless stream of ability, it is almost as if his sole aim is to make it onto Soccer AM's showboat feature every week rather than compete for the biggest prizes in domestic football. His confidence levels are quite frankly offensive for a player of his age and it's so unbelievably refreshing to see.

Sancho is the prime example of a risk paying off: he took a leap of faith 18 months ago and left a Manchester City side managed by the world's best manager - a side who it's worth noting did not want him to leave - in the hope that his career would benefit abroad, and it's fair to say that's exactly what it's done, and more.

The British media are guilty of over-hyping young English talent to the point that it could be damaging to them - it's almost impossible to disagree with that statement. However, in Sancho there are so many factors contributing to his current game that makes it almost impossible to disagree with anyone saying that he's destined for greatness.

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Rarely a week will go by where Sancho doesn't appear on social media, effortlessly dazzling defenders.

Truth be told, we're all just very excited

In honesty, we're all just so excited about what the future holds for England's newest recruit. When you put things into perspective - in 10 years time, Sancho will still only be 28, which is widely known to be a footballer's 'prime'.

The sky really is the limit for Sancho and while the rest of us are left stood at the bar wondering where it all went wrong, he'll be out there, hugging whichever touchline he finds himself nearest to, skinning whichever full-back who finds himself unlucky enough to be marking him, proving to us all why he finds himself where he does at this stage of his career.

Tonight's game at Wembley is just the beginning for the boy who started from humble beginnings, turning out for Watford's youth academy at the tender age of six.

The country will be watching on with huge expectancy this evening, with every football fan in England (who isn't connected to the white side of North London) hoping for an explosive performance typical of what has gone before us on various YouTube highlight reels this season.

Over to you, Jadon.