Some 966 days later, it resumed as if time had simply been paused. OK, he was clad in the No 10 shirt this time rather than the No 7 but in most other senses, it was as if Jadon Sancho had never been away.
Whether that is positive or negative is not an easy question to answer. The immediate fillip that the on-loan Manchester United winger has given his old team is not in question. This is, however, the most typical of January transfers. Three desperate parties coming together to hammer out the best, least-worst solution to their very immediate problems. The opening stanza of the renewed player-club relationship underlined exactly why they’ve come together and why, at this point in time, they need each other like they do.
