Thomas Hein
When Jadon Sancho signed for United in the summer of 2021 it seemed like the perfect move for both club and player.
United were getting one of the best young players in Europe, albeit at a hugely inflated price now the norm for English players.
Sancho, meanwhile, was returning to England, and more pertinently, Manchester, eager to show the blue side what they were missing out on with Sancho’s decision to reject a professional contract at City in 2017 – and the tutelage of Pep Guardiola no less – in part down to a lack of assurances over playing time.
Since becoming a red, Sancho has done little to prove City (and Pep) wrong.
8 goals and four assists in his season-and-a-half at Old Trafford aren’t the kind of numbers United expected in return when they paid Dortmund £73 million.
But why has Sancho’s United career, so far, stalled?
According to ex-Red, Rio Ferdinand, Sancho has “lost his swagger” and is clearly struggling with his confidence. Fellow former United defender Paul Parker meanwhile has picked up on Sancho’s habit of slowing down the tempo of a game and apparent reluctance to attack opponents enough as reasons for his lack of a real impact so far.
Parker has kicked the boot in even further by suggesting Sancho could become one of United’s worst-ever signings should he not improve his game.
The view of ex-Ireland international-turned-pundit, Tony Cascarino, is arguably more damning. He claimed youngster Alejandro Garnacho, whose goal was the difference as United beat Real Sociedad in their final Europa League group stage game, has shown more in 45 minutes than Sancho has in his entire career.
Harsh possibly but Casarino’s view will resonate with some United fans. Irish bookmakers would’ve offered long odds on Garnacho featuring this season, let alone getting among the goals. And while that says a lot about the talented Argentinian and what the future may hold for him, what does it all mean for Sancho?
Goals against Liverpool and Leicester – and also in Europe – earlier in the season led many to believe that Sancho was starting to show the kind of form which earned him his move initially.
There was even speculation that a consistent spell of good form could see him make a late run for England’s World Cup squad.
But an inability to capitalise on his early season performances has seen Gareth Southgate leave Sancho, part of the squad that got to the Euro 2020 final let’s not forget, off his final list of players for Qatar.
Not that he can have too many complaints of course. Sancho continues to flatter to deceive in a United shirt. The Jadon Sancho who scored 16 goals and registered 20 assists for Dortmund prior to leaving for United has not yet arrived at Old Trafford.
Some would argue his performances mirror that of the team and, in fairness to Sancho, an element of that may be true. United are still finding their way under a new coach looking to instill a new philosophy.
Whether it’s also fair that his stats are compared with the figures he recorded whilst playing in the Bundesliga, an inferior division to the Premier League it must be said, is a debate for another day.
And there’s the hefty price tag which is inevitably (and sometimes unfairly) used as a stick to beat any player who doesn’t justify the money spent on them.
All that said, scrutiny is par for the course when you play for one of the biggest club sides in the world, something Sancho must learn to cope with.
Few, at this stage, were expecting Sancho to be the finished article – he is of course still just 22 and only in his second season at Old Trafford. But as Sancho readily admits, he’s yet to deliver in a United shirt.
Sancho’s stop-start United career needs to get motoring sooner rather than later or he may end up proving the doubters right. Will the real Jadon Sancho please stand up?
