Jadon Sancho's recent dip in form could have been caused by the incessant transfer speculation surrounding him during pre-season, according to Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre. 

Sancho was the subject of intense transfer rumours in the close-season as Manchester United reportedly attempted to prise the England international away. 

Dortmund maintained early on that Sancho was not for sale once an August deadline passed, and they successfully resisted United's apparent attempts to make a deal happen. 

But, while no move transpired, Favre suggests it was not a case of no harm being done. 

Sancho has only had a hand in two goals (two assists) in four Bundesliga matches at the start of 2020-21, a somewhat disappointing figure by his usual standards.

Favre believes the pre-season saga could have affected him. 

"Every player has slow periods," he said ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Zenit. 

"There was a lot of talk about Jadon in the summer, something like that can also have an impact. 

"But no player is consistently in top form for an entire year, that's impossible. You have to accept that." 

Last season, Sancho created a total of 69 goal-scoring chances in the Bundesliga, ultimately leading to 16 assists. He also scored 17 times, meaning he was involved in 33 goals in 32 games. 

While his key pass frequency was 2.71 per 90 minutes in 2019-20, that has only decreased slightly to 2.04 this term, therefore he is still creating opportunities. 

Nevertheless, Sancho is already behind in regards to his overall productivity in comparison to the previous season.