It has been over 15 months since the saga surrounding Jadon Sancho's future was resolved as he made the big-money move to Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund.
The 22-year-old was linked with a move to Old Trafford all summer before his switch was confirmed during Euro 2020, just days before England’s quarter-final clash with Ukraine in Rome. United confirmed they had reached an agreement with Dortmund for the highly-rated winger.
However, it took until after the tournament for Sancho to be unveiled as a United player, with the Red Devils confirming they had signed the player on a five-year deal on July 23, 2021. In a club statement, Sancho revealed his ambitions and what he hoped he could achieve during his time at the club.
He said: "This is a young and exciting squad and I know, together, we can develop into something special to bring the success that the fans deserve. I am looking forward to working with the Manager and his coaching team to further develop my game."
Sancho said he wanted to further develop his game but there is a case to be made that he hasn't improved much compared to his time at Dortmund. The winger scored 16 goals and provided 20 assists in 40 matches during the 2020/21 season as he earned himself a move to the Premier League.
Although there has been comparisons made about the quality difference between the Premier League and the Bundesliga, Sancho hasn't posted anywhere near the numbers he registered in his final season at Dortmund. Last season, Sancho directly contributed to just eight goals in 41 games in all competitions.
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This sort of form saw the Englishman left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for England’s Nations League matches in the summer. The Three Lions boss said at the time that Sancho and team-mate Marcus Rashford had a "lot to do" to break into the squad for the World Cup.
After a more promising start to the campaign where Sancho scored against Liverpool and Leicester, the former Manchester City youngster has since lost his place in the starting XI after struggling for form and fitness. Sancho’s last start came in the 1-1 draw at Chelsea, where he was hooked off after 52 minutes following a disappointing performance, with Anthony Elanga replacing him in the side for the win over West Ham.
With the World Cup squad being announced on Thursday, it is unlikely that Sancho has done enough to be included in the 26-man contingent. This would be a blow to a player that was brought for a huge price tag and had ambitions to make the squad for the tournament in Qatar, with Southgate set to announce his team on Thursday afternoon.
He doesn't look as sharp, effective in possession or as fit as he did in his final season at Dortmund. That is backed up by statistics with Sancho averaging just 1.3 key passes per-game during his time at United, compared to 2.6 in the 20/21 season. He also recorded more dribbles, shots per-game and crosses, all areas that Sancho should be recording high numbers at due to his position.
There is no doubt Sancho will need to boost his numbers following the World Cup if he wants to force his way back into the starting XI, and begin to further repay the £73million United paid for him. Sancho has missed the last two matches through illness but could be back in contention for the Red Devils as they face Aston Villa on Thursday.
