Jadon Sancho turns 20 – How Borussia Dortmund star compares with England legends before their 20th birthdays

What did you do before you turned 20?

England and Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho leaves his teenage years behind him today, and it got us at talkSPORT.com thinking how he compares to some Three Lions legends.

Jadon Sancho is a superstar in the making

Sancho is undoubtedly one of world football’s most exciting young talents, and his form has been nothing short of remarkable since leaving Manchester City for Germany in 2017.

In what is approaching three years with Dortmund, he has not only cemented his place in the first-team and performed at the highest level in the Champions League, he has broken records with his goal scoring and goal creating form.

In September 2019 he broke a 52-year record to become the youngest-ever player to score 15 goals in a single Bundesliga campaign.

Then, in January 2020 he became the first player in Europe’s top five leagues to reach double figures in goals and assists this season – reaching the tally faster than even Lionel Messi.

Glen Johnson says Jadon Sancho should join Liverpool, rather than Manchester United, this summer

Sancho’s incredible performances have also seen him break into the England senior squad and become a regular in Gareth Southgate’s side, having impressed with two goals on his senior Three Lions debut.

This is a guy who only scored his first professional goal in 2018, and now his tally is in the 20s, he has more than 40 assists and is close to making a century of appearances.

What a talent!

But how does he compare to some of our other young guns of the past?

We should get used to see Sancho wearing England’s No.7 shirt

talkSPORT.com have run the rule over England’s top goal scorers and providers of recent decades to see how their achievements before they turned 20 compared with Sancho’s.

And the results may surprise you…

Jadon Sancho turns 20 – His career so far…

Club: Borussia Dortmund
Apps: 90
Goals: 21
Assists: 42
England caps: 11 – 2 goals
Honours – German Supercup, Under-17 World Cup

Steven Gerrard – Turned 20: May 30, 2000

Club: Liverpool

Apps: 44

Goals: 1

Assists: 1

England caps: 2

It’s worth noting that in the 00/01 season, after just turning 20, Gerrard managed 50 caps, 10 goals, 5 assists and won the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup.

17. Steven Gerrard (wore Liverpool's no.17 between 2000-2004) — It was clear from the very start Steven Gerrard was something special, but his career didn’t really kick off until he got into his 20s.

Frank Lampard – Turned 20: Jun 20, 1998

Club: West Ham United

Apps: 52

Goals: 6

Assists: 4

England caps: 0

Lamps came through the ranks at West Ham before joining Chelsea in 2001 at the age of 22, and the rest is history.

Wayne Rooney – Turned 20: Oct 24, 2005

Clubs: Everton, Manchester United

Apps: 132

Goals: 39

Assists: 10

England caps: 27 – 10 goals, 5 assists

Rooney’s career took off like a rocket after leaving boyhood club Everton for Man United at the age of 18. He went on to become both United’s and England’s all-time top goalscorer.

Michael Owen – Turned 20: Dec 14, 1999

Club: Liverpool

Apps: 100

Goals: 51

Assists: 10

England caps: 18 – 5 goals, 1 assist

22. Michael Owen (Liverpool) scored 18 goals in 30 appearances in the 1998/99 season, recording a goals per game ratio of 0.6 — Micheal Owen was a once-in-a-generation talent whose career was wrecked by injury. While some Liverpool fans will never forgive him for later joining Man United, he still remains one of the Reds’ best-ever strikers.

Paul Scholes – Turned 20: Nov 16, 1994

Club: Manchester United

Apps: 9

Goals: 3

Assists: 0

England caps: 0

6. Paul Scholes v Port Vale, September 1994 – Click right for more brilliant Man United debuts… — Paul Scholes was a late bloomer at Old Trafford, which his story starting in September 1994, when the ginger-haired midfielder scored both goals in United’s League Cup win over Port Vale. He went on to win 11 Premier League titles – the most by an English player.

Alan Shearer – Turned 20: Aug 13, 1990

Club: Southampton

Apps: 50

Goals: 8

England caps: 0

It’s 32 years since Alan Shearer – complete with a full head of hair – burst on to the scene with a hat-trick on his full Southampton debut, aged just 17, in a 4-2 win over Arsenal at The Dell. He failed to score in his second season in senior football, but soon enough he wouldn’t be able to stop.

David Beckham – Turned 20: May 2 1995

Clubs: Manchester United, Preston North End

Apps: 16

Goals: 3

Assists: 1

England caps: 0

1997/98: David Beckham (Manchester United) - 13 assists — Becks, Mr Goldenballs himself, was loaned out to Third Division Preston for a month in February 1995. He made his Premier League debut for United in the April and then helped the Red Devils to the Premier League title in the following season, but he had already turned 20 by that point.

Harry Kane – turned 20: July 28, 2013

Clubs: Tottenham, Leyton Orient (on loan), Millwall (on loan), Norwich City (on loan), Leicester City (on loan)

Apps: 71

Goals: 17

Assists: 6

England caps: 0

Harry Kane is now one of the world’s best strikers, but it took years of graft in the lower leagues to get his chance for Spurs.

Jadon Sancho turns 20 – How Borussia Dortmund star compares with England legends before their 20th birthdays