Dimitar Berbatov has warned Jadon Sancho against joining his former club Manchester United due to concerns over whether he would be a first-choice starter in every game.
Sancho has emerged as one of the most coveted players in world football during another impressive campaign for Borussia Dortmund, where he has directly contributed to 30 goals in just 23 Bundesliga appearances in 2019-20.
United are understood to be leading the race for the 20-year-old, but Berbatov believes that the winger would be better served staying at the Westfalenstadion for at least another season.
"Sancho is unbelievable, he has 14 goals and 15 assists, it is unbelievable, and it speaks volume about the way he is developing, the speed, the goals, the passing and his eye for the pass. He isn't selfish, if you have 15 assists it must be because you play the ball whenever you have the chance and someone is in a better position," Berbatov told Betfair.
"Sancho moved to Germany at a very young age and it looks to be paying off massively in the way that he is developing. That was maybe the best decision he has made so far, to go there and play because I think he, his agent and family knew he was good enough to play, so when someone isn't giving you a chance at one place of course you go and find somewhere to play and it was a great decision on his part, he is developing and now big teams are coming after him.
"I don't know if now is the right time for him to go to Manchester United, I have mentioned it before, I have my doubts here because at United there's Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Daniel James. It's good to have competition for the team but I would imagine if he moves to a new place he would want to play every game, but rotation is a common thing now in football.
"From that point of view, you can't guarantee a player will play, but I think we need to go with that assumption, big money and he would like to play. For me, he is going to choose the team that he knows he is going to play. Not to move and do nothing because that is going to stop his development and that why I think it may be better for him to stay at Dortmund for one more year, why not?
"When I was a young player in Germany, at the same age as Sancho, my mind was only on me developing. I wasn't thinking about transfers, I was happy at Leverkusen, I was playing every game and if you really love football that is what you want to do, you want to play every game and you want to know that you are going to play every game, it gives you confidence.
"It cannot make you think that somebody owes you something, even if you play every game you need to prove yourself each and every training session, you can't relax and think 'I'm the number one goalscorer, they can't do without me.'
"In that sense, I didn't think about transfers, so I stay there for almost five years, Sancho has been there since 2017 and it's crucial to know him and his surroundings to know when is the right time to stay or go because this can sometimes can make or break a career."
Sancho has scored 17 goals and assisted 19 more in 35 appearances across all competitions this season.
Germany
Switzerland
Hungary
Scotland
Spain
Italy
Croatia
Albania
England
Denmark
Slovenia
Serbia
Austria
France
Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Belgium
Slovakia
Ukraine
Portugal
Turkey
Georgia
Czech Republic