Manchester United have moved to heap praise on Jadon Sancho after he was urged to leave the club.
The English winger endured another difficult season at Old Trafford last term, although it was a steady improvement on his nightmare first campaign since completing a long-awaited £73million transfer from Borussia Dortmund. Sancho's role under Erik ten Hag was largely a peripheral one and he found himself behind both Marcus Rashford and Antony in the pecking order - even being sent away on an individual training camp in the Netherlands over the winter.
Now that the summer transfer window is open, the ex- Manchester City academy prospect, 23, has been tipped to return to ex-club Dortmund and rekindle his magic. Sancho has also been linked with a £50m move to Tottenham, while Aston Villa are reported to be interested, this time in a loan deal.
Pundit Ally McCoist was discussing the 23-year-old future's on talkSPORT and in a damning indictment of his prospects under Ten Hag, said: " I just feel for the lad, you know, because it's a move that hasn't really worked out has it? I don't think anybody can doubt there's a real talent there."
McCoist added: "You go back to that period last season where he was having problems where Ten Hag sent him away. to try and get himself squared up. I just feel from the the move clearly hasn't worked out. And why not? Why not go back to where he was [Dortmund]? You know, he was he was loved and he was playing well, without doubt the best football of his career."
With the Rangers legends' comments doing the rounds since Wednesday morning, United have published an article on their website praising Sancho's efforts, indicating that there's still plenty of hope for him at Old Trafford. The Red Devils noted that out of all of their fixtures last season, no player managed more sprints in a single match than the 23-time England international did during United's 0-0 draw with Newcastle in October (32).
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Not only did the piece highlight Sancho's work rate, an aspect of his game which has been criticised, but reminded fans how the club are still desperate for him to have a successful United career. £73m is a big enough outlay alone, but the fact that Old Trafford chiefs spent more than a year chasing his signature, dipping in and out of negotiations with Dortmund, only turns the pressure dial.
It's not been suggested that any move away is imminent and Ten Hag certainly believes that there's a player in there. "I think Jadon Sancho is one of the players who made progress in the season and there were many players in our squad who made good progress," the Red Devils boss recently declared. "I think it's a good base to build further on."
During Sancho's exile from United in December, his former England youth manager, Paul Simpson, backed the London-born forward to eventually succeed at the top level. "I hope he gets a chance at United if he's worthy of a place and I'm quite sure that'll happen with Jadon because he hasn't become a bad footballer overnight," Simpson declared, speaking exclusively to Mirror Football .
"He's obviously just hit the first bump in the road for a young person and I hope he comes through it because he has got as much ability as any player; he is a fantastic footballer. It's now just about doing what Erik ten Hag wants him to do, getting himself into a better place and I'm quite sure we'll see a lot more of Jadon Sancho."
