Jadon Sancho 'took a secret holiday to Dubai during Dortmund's winter break'

Jadon Sancho took a secret trip to Dubai to spend Christmas with his father during the Bundesliga's winter break, according to reports in Germany.

With the England star barred from entering Great Britain because of the covid mutation that has torn through the country, and with his father not allowed to come to Dortmund either, both decided on a trip to the UAE instead, according to Bild.

The Borussia Dortmund forward has rarely been able to see his dad during the global pandemic and the report claims he has often spent his time alone in his apartment in Dortmund.

The lack of family ties has left the 20-year-old in a permanent low since missing out on his move to Manchester United last summer, the German newspaper claims.

It is not the first time Sancho has holidayed in the Gulf state, and during a previous trip in 2019 he sparked fury in Germany as he showed off a host of swanky videos and pictures from the trip.

He shared pictures of himself on a yacht, on a buggy in the desert and paying a visit to the renowned Turkish chef Salt Bae.

But this time Sancho kept his trip quiet, with no pictures or videos posted to his social media profiles.

Sancho had recorded a negative test upon returning to Germany, allowing him to take part in training again and to be involved in Dortmund's first game back after the winter break, a 2-0 win over Wolfsburg on Sunday.

The short excursion may well have done the trick for Sancho, who finally netted his first Bundesliga goal of the season at the 12th attempt on Sunday.

Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has suggested Sancho's poor form this season is down to his failed move to Old Trafford.

Watzke believes Sancho 'had already prepared for a change' when United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward refused to meet Dortmund's £108million asking price due to the financial ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a result, Watzke believes Sancho is feeling the pressure - stating that he has lost his creativity and has become a 'tenth of a second slower' on the ball.

The Dortmund chief told Kicker: 'Subconsciously, Jadon had probably already prepared a little for a change.

'I think he had at least thought so much about it that he lost his ease. I have found him trying very hard for weeks.'

'The biggest difference is that he used to not think about his next ball action.

'Now he thinks about it, and the tenth of a second that he misses is often exactly the one in which the opponent is already on his feet.

'The more you try as a creative person, the more difficult it often becomes.'

Sancho scored 17 goals and registered 17 assists last season. Whereas the youngster has only managed five goals in 19 appearances so far this term.