It's time we started calling Jadon Sancho what he really is.
The Borussia Dortmund and England winger has been regularly labelled "the best teenager in the world", especially since last December, when Kylian Mbappe turned 20. However, even at 19, Mbappe was recognised as one of the world's best players, despite his age.
After a breakout season in the Bundesliga, Sancho has started 2019-20 at an even higher level, consolidating his status as one of the most exciting young players in world football, but also showing that he is also one of the game's elite attackers – up there with players a decade older than him.
Sancho's performances for Dortmund have put him on the radar of Europe's biggest clubs, with his pricetag now well over £100m ($122m), a fee which would put him among the top-five most expensive players ever. The fee is fully justified, too, given the quality of his performances over the past year.
On Friday, he fired Dortmund to a 3-1 win over Cologne, scoring the equaliser with a brilliant, weaker-foot finish for his 15th Bundesliga goal – the youngest player ever to reach that tally.
However, just as notable was the way in which he burst through Cologne's defence before unselfishly laying the ball off for Paco Alcacer to score Dortmund's third goal. That took Sancho to 16 league assists in the past year, more than any other player in all of Europe's top five leagues.
Just two games into the new Bundesliga season, Sancho has two goals and two assists to his name. Before this, he also scored one and assisted another in the 2-0 Supercup win over rivals Bayern Munich, lifting his first piece of silverware at club level.
At international level, Sancho scored three goals as England lifted the 2017 U-17 World Cup, while he was also named as the best player at the European Under-17 Championship that same year.
He made his senior debut for England in October 2018 and has featured six times for his country so far, sometimes lining up opposite former Manchester City team-mate Raheem Sterling.
The pair have stayed close since Sancho's Etihad exit in 2017 and Sterling is not surprised of the progress his former club-mate has made since moving to the Bundesliga.
"When he first mentioned to me he was thinking about going abroad, even though he was a City player, I was happy to hear that from him," Sterling told Sport360 . "I knew he had a massive chance to go on to do big things.
"I’m just really happy to see him doing so well. He’s doing massive things and I hope he stays level headed and keeps working and keeps learning."
After making his second England start, Sancho praised Sterling's form at club level and revealed that he was delighted to be able to finally play with the world-class winger.
“His numbers are crazy this year, and he’s showing all the youngsters what it’s about," he told reporters. "I’m just happy that I’m sharing a pitch with him.”
In each of his first two starts for the Three Lions, the teenager provided an assist, one of which was a cross for Sterling straight out of Man City winger's playbook, breaking the defensive line with a perfectly-timed run to cut back for an easy finish.
With intelligent play like that, it's no surprise Sterling exclaimed "I want to be like him!"
Goal
England already know the calibre of player they have in the squad, while Borussia Dortmund are already wary of interest from bigger teams who could break the bank to sign Sancho next summer.
"Sancho is an absolute superstar," Dortmund managing director Carsten Cramer told the Times of India . "He is not just a talented player. He is already in the first XI at Dortmund at such a young age. He is a guy who makes a difference.
"There are very few footballers who really make a difference. It will be a challenge for us to keep him playing for us, but we will try. We have some good arguments on the strengths of our club. He will definitely stay here this season, and then, we will see."
Sancho turns 20 in March and, at the stage, he can no longer be labelled "the best teenager in world football". But there's no point in waiting until then to update his label: Jadon Sancho is already one of the game's elite attackers.