Manchester United: Jadon Sancho, autopsy of a failure

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By: Manu Tournoux

The destiny of a footballer often moves very quickly. And this adage can clearly go either way. Indeed, while a plethora of young stars have never been able to perform at the professional level, a slew of others have excelled at the highest level even though few expectations were placed on them. Jadon Sancho is unclassifiable. Trained at Manchester City, the versatile attacking midfielder exploded between 2017 and 2021 under the colors of Borussia Dortmund. Considered a generational talent on the other side of the Rhine, the London native took the plunge in the summer of 2021 by returning to the north of England and this time donning the Manchester United tunic. An experience that is proving cataclysmic for the moment…

An insufficient balance sheet

Indeed, one of Jadon Sancho’s problems is that he has never been able to respond to the investment placed on him. Arriving the same summer as Cristiano Ronaldo for 85 million euros, the 23-year-old intended to perform on his native lands. Used in a central attacking midfielder role in Dortmund, the England international (23 caps, 3 goals) was eccentric on the left or right side in Manchester. This does not justify its insufficient results but it may provide a first element of response. Talking about his great dribbling skills and his almost omniscient vision of the game in the Ruhr, Sancho showed only a sample of his talent among the residents of Old Trafford.

In addition, the former Manchester City youth prodigy often dragged his spleen to the Red Devils. Singled out and victim, unfortunately, of racist insults during his missed shot on goal during the Euro final in the summer of 2021 against Italy, the Englishman was very touched by all these criticisms. During his first season at Manchester United, the latter nevertheless benefited from more than adequate playing time under the aegis of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer then Ralf Rangnick. Faced with his player’s psychological declines, Erik Ten Hag then authorized certain deviations upon his arrival, also arranging a special schedule for his 23-year-old player. Often deactivating his social networks, like his Instagram account a few days ago, Jadon Sancho had also found refuge in video games and often stayed up late at night. He also made regular appointments with a sports psychologist in order to overcome his problems.

For all these reasons, Sancho is disappointing on the field and his balance sheet is largely insufficient at the moment: 12 goals and 6 assists in 82 appearances, all competitions combined. Statistics which provoke the ire of Mancunian supporters and which no longer allow Erik ten Hag to make him a viable starter for this new vintage. While his playing time was already in free fall last season, the former City man was confined exclusively to a substitute role at the start of the season. A downgrade which was set to continue and which therefore pushed the young player to make a mistake for which he paid a hundredfold. A tragedy which should also sound the death knell for his Mancunian adventure.

A departure this winter under consideration following his falling out with Erik ten Hag

Indeed, frustrated with his playing time at half mast, Jadon Sancho responded on his social networks to his Batavian coach who decided to sideline him. Uncompromising, the latter then sidelined him and was very cold about him at a press conference a few days ago: “Will he play with us again? I don’t know. He’s not available at the moment so it doesn’t matter because he can’t contribute.» Cold, the former coach of Ajax Amsterdam does not seem inclined to reinstate him any time soon and is awaiting an apology for even imagining his reincorporation into the Manchester United squad.

As a result, a future with the current tenth in the Premier League is getting darker day by day, a winter departure seems relevant as reported Sky Sports this Tuesday. While FC Barcelona had recently been linked to the London native, a return of the latter to Borussia Dortmund cannot be ruled out but remains improbable at this stage. Our colleagues from across the Rhine announce that the striker and Edin Terzic, the BVB coach, maintain good relationships and are in regular contact. Still according to the indiscretions of the German media, a loan would be the option favored by the Mancunian board to let him go. In the event of a sale, Manchester United would be guaranteed to lose money compared to the 85 million euros invested two years ago. According to TransfermarktJadon Sancho is only worth 45 million euros at the time of writing.

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