Jadon Sancho signed for Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund in July 2021 for a fee of £73million. At the time this seemed like a relative bargain as the England winger was majorly successful for the Bundesliga giants.
In the 2019/20 season, Sancho caught the attention of the world as he scored 17 goals and bagged an equally impressive tally of 16 assists in 32 Bundesliga appearances.
The wideman followed this up with 19 goal contributions in Germany’s top flight in the 2020/21 campaign. He also led Dortmund to glory as he scored two goals and got an assist as Edin Terzic’s side thrashed RB Leipzig 4-1 in the 2021 DFB-Pokal final. This was Dortmund’s first major trophy since their previous cup triumph all the way back in 2016.
READ MORE: Sancho takes break from social media to focus on Man Utd form
After all this dazzling success in Germany, Sancho seemed like an exciting acquisition in a transfer window where United subsequently signed global stars Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Reds appeared to be gearing themselves up for an exciting 2021/22 campaign, but what followed was a disaster.
Sancho seemed destined to shine at Old Trafford, but so far it hasn’t turned out that way. At Dortmund, his trickery made him an unstoppable force at times but he simply hasn’t been able to bring his footballing wizardry to United just yet. Last season, Sancho managed just three goals and three assists in 29 appearances, starting just 20 times. These numbers are a mere shadow of the sort of statistics Sancho was delivering on a regular basis in Germany.
Perhaps Sancho’s struggles have partially come as a result of the difference in game time he has had at Old Trafford compared to that of his years at Dortmund. When fully fit, Sancho was one of the first names on the team sheet at Dortmund alongside the likes of Marco Reus and Erling Haaland, whereas at United he often finds himself on the substitutes' bench. It is possible that the recent emergence of Alejandro Garnacho has pushed Sancho even further down the United pecking order.
Sancho has provided some real moments of quality in a United shirt but he just hasn’t been doing it on a consistent basis. He was excellent in the match at Old Trafford as the Reds beat bitter rivals Liverpool in August, and that’s the sort of match-winning performance Sancho produced time and time again in Germany.
But Sancho appears to be doing the right things in order to bring himself back to form, even going so far as taking a break from social media, deleting all his posts and blacking out his profile image.
Sources close to the player say the move is part of his focus to try to improve his fortunes on the pitch, using the opportunity of the World Cup break to focus on his family life before turning his attention back to football.
The former Dortmund man is still capable of becoming massively successful at Old Trafford, but something has to give. The United setup clearly isn’t allowing Sancho to thrive at the moment, but there is still time for the England man to rescue the situation.
READ NEXT:
