The football comebacks Jadon Sancho can take inspiration from - including ex-Man Utd and Chelsea stars

Upon the announcement of his long-anticipated return to Borussia Dortmund, Jadon Sancho issued a simple, two-word statement: 'I'm back'. He's not wrong.

The winger, still contracted to parent club Manchester United, left the Bundesliga two-and-a-half years ago, brimming with promise and an apparent potential that could, and perhaps should, have asserted his talent as one of the very best in the world. The intermittent period has, however, been difficult, to say the least. Eighty-two appearances for the Red Devils yielded just 12 goals and six assists, and a subsequent falling out with manager Erik ten Hag has ensured that he spent the last several months lurking on the periphery at Old Trafford, ostracised and unused.

Now, however, he will get his shot at redemption in an environment that he knows better than most. And that got us thinking about other prodigal sons who have made grand comebacks for former sides. If Sancho can be even half as successful as this lot during his second stint in Germany, he will have done very well indeed...

Paul Scholes

We'll start with a player who actually came back to Manchester United, rather than fleeing from them in ignominy. Scholes looked to be done and dusted with professional football, only to lace up his boots for one last dance, helping his beloved boyhood club to a record-breaking 20th league title in the process and sticking one to bitter rivals Liverpool at the same time. In many respects, a perfect return.

Dean Windass

Windass is, to all intents and purposes, the King of Hull. Sold by the Tigers during a period of financial difficulty in the '90s, he returned as a battle-scarred veteran twelve years later and provided arguably the most iconic moment in the club's recent history. After scoring a glut of goals to keep them in the Championship the season prior, the striker stepped up when it mattered most to take Hull City to the Premier League with a stunning play-off final strike at Wembley.

Gerard Pique

Pique left Barcelona as a boy and returned as the man. After failing to make much of an impression on the first team picture at Manchester United, the Spaniard headed back to Catalonia and proceeded to win absolutely everything in football at both club and international level. A modern legend, whose time in England now represents nothing more than a footnote.

Wilfried Zaha

Yet another player who tangled with Manchester United to little avail. Zaha joined the Red Devils as a precocious teenager, but would only manage a handful of senior appearances for the club before eventually finding his way back to boyhood side Crystal Palace. With 90 goals and 76 assists to his name, he left the Eagles this summer having garnered a reputation to match any name in their recent history.

Ian Rush

Rush is, of course, a Liverpool legend, but things could have been fairly different had things worked out for him during a doomed spell with Juventus in Italy. By the time the Welsh hitman headed to Turin, he had already done more than enough to cement his place amongst the greats at Anfield, but the shower of medals he won at the second time of asking certainly didn't do him any harm either. A couple of league titles, a couple of FA Cups, a League Cup - the job's a good 'un.

Brett Ormerod

Perhaps not as esteemed as some of the names on this list, but to Blackpool fans Ormerod is a living legend. The striker really made his name at Bloomfield Road before earning a Premier League move with Southampton in 2001. Almost a decade would pass before he pulled on a tangerine jersey again, but when he did it was to great effect. Like Dean Windass, Ormerod would ultimately score a Wembley goal to take his side to the promised land of top flight football.

Nemanja Matic

In a previous life, Matic was yet another overlooked youth prospect in Chelsea's bulging academy system. Having made minimal impact at Stamford Bridge, he was sold to Benfica for a cut-price fee in 2011. Just three years later, however, the Blues would buy him back for around £21 million, and the combative Serbian would go on to win two league titles and a League Cup with his new/old club.

Juninho

And finally, Juninho. To this day, Teesside loves the little Brazilian, and he evidently loves it just as much. The trickster would spend three separate spells with Middlesbrough over the course of a glittering career, and eventually his love affair with the land of the parmo would be rewarded with an emotional League Cup triumph in 2004.