Despite Manchester United's poor results of late, the sight of Jadon Sancho finally finding his feet at the club has been reason for fans to smile.
Sancho was mocked by rival supporters for his non-existent output at the start of the season and some United fans were worried that the club had been stung by the dreaded 'Bundesliga tax'.
Things are looking up for the former Borussia Dortmund winger of late so let's look at four reasons why he seems to be finally coming good at United.
Ralf Rangnick
Ralf Rangnick coming in as interim manager was probably a blessing in disguise for Sancho.
Despite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's determined pursuit of the youngster, when the former United boss finally got his man he didn't know what to do with him.
Rangnick seems to have more of an idea and has deployed him on the left in recent weeks where he has thrived. According to the statistical Twitter account UtdArena, Sancho has averaged the most progressive actions (passes and carries) per 90 for United during Rangnick's tenure with 9.09.
The 4-3-3 formation also seems to benefit Sancho as it allows him to link up with Paul Pogba and Luke Shaw down the left-hand side. Speaking of which...
Shaw has been starting at left-back
Despite the criticism he received at the start of the season, Shaw is still an excellent left-back. One of his most impressive traits is to adjust his game to suit the style of whoever he is playing alongside.
Shaw is one of United's best players when it comes to moving the ball up the pitch quickly and this works well alongside Sancho who is not the fastest but is a very intelligent footballer.
As United fans saw against Middlesbrough and Burnley, Shaw is adept at carrying the ball from deep into the final third, and when he's not in possession he makes clever inside and outside runs past Sancho to offer the winger more space by drawing defenders away.
He's playing on the left
Moving on from the point about the link-up play on United's left-hand side, Sancho on the left just feels more natural to watch as a fan.
Despite being brought in to solve United's issues on the right, Sancho played in a variety of positions during his time at Dortmund but always had a bigger impact on the game when playing on the left.
Of course, this does mean that United may now need to sign yet another winger to play on the right, with Marcus Rashford also looking more comfortable on the left.
But that's a problem for another day and United need to keep playing Sancho on the left.
He just needed time
I think this point is obvious but the expectation for a young lad to hit the ground running was a bit ridiculous.,
He was always going to need time to settle into a new environment and, while it may have taken a little longer than expected, he's now doing just that.
This season may have been an underwhelming one for United so far but the improvements made by Sancho bode well for the future.
Do you think Jadon Sancho has improved at United? Follow our United On My Mind writer Casey Evans on Twitter and get involved in the discussion in the comments section below.
