England Omission Must Fuel Jadon Sancho To Save His Manchester United Career

Initially, it seemed Erik ten Hag would be the perfect manager to get Jadon Sancho’s Manchester United career back on track. The 22-year-old enjoyed a strong start to the season as Ten Hag demonstrated a greater understanding of the winger’s qualities than either Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Ralf Rangnick had.

And yet somewhere along the line Sancho regressed again. He is back to being a peripheral figure at Old Trafford, something that was underlined by his omission from Gareth Southgate’s 26-man England squad for the 2022 World Cup. Sancho wasn’t included, and there was no controversy around that decision.

Sancho must use that omission and disappointment from missing out on a place at the World Cup to revive his Manchester United career when the season resumes after Christmas. The 22-year-old clearly has the talent to be a first team figure in the PremierPINC
League, but he can’t waste any more time to grow and develop.

For Borussia Dortmund, Sancho was excellent in moments of transition. He was the one primary charged with carrying the Black and Yellows up the pace at speed. Sancho was also brilliant at slicing through opposition defences with a pass when he was able to isolate a full back in a one-on-one situation.

The issue for Sancho at Manchester United is that he doesn’t have many teammates who are willing to make runs in behind and latch on to his passes. This frequently leaves the winger without an option and leads to frustration over how he slows down United’s attacking play in the final third.

“With his potential, there’s much more room for improvement,” Ten Hag recently explained about Sancho and his role for Manchester United. “He can be even more important and contribute with his creativity and scoring goals and assists. With the defending part, he can be even more important.

“Yes, I think he can [become a prolific goalscorer]. He has the capabilities and he did it also in a different league, but this is Premier League, so the intensity is higher, so he has to adapt to that, mentally and physically. The capabilities are there, the skills.”

Many fans and experts wanted Sancho to start for England at Euro 2020. At Dortmund, he was viewed as one of the most exciting young players in the European game. Manchester United chased him for over a year amid interest from other clubs such as Liverpool and Real Madrid. The £73m United paid for Sancho was considered a fair price.

Now, it appears ten Hag is building a Manchester United team without Sancho. Antony was signed from Ajax this summer to play on the right wing while Marcus Rashford has rediscovered his form on the left. There’s also Anthony Martial, who can play on the left side, and Alejandro Garnacho, also a left winger, who has burst on to the scene in the last few matches.

It’s still too early to write off Sancho as a Manchester United player, but his absence at the 2022 World Cup makes a statement about his standing in the sport right now. In the past, United have been guilty of giving too many opportunities to expensive signings who never made the grade. They might not afford Sancho the same patience.