Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has admitted that he is concerned over Jadon Sancho's form at the club after the winger was dropped by Erik ten Hag.
United came from behind to beat Everton 2-1 at Goodison Park on Sunday night, as goals from Antony and Cristiano Ronaldo ensured that Alex Iwobi's edge-of-the-box strike after just five minutes was merely a consolation for the Toffees. Casemiro made his first Premier League start under Ten Hag, and the Brazilian repaid his manager's faith in him with a fine performance.
The only real blemish on the night came in the first half when Anthony Martial suffered yet another injury setback, as the Frenchman came off before the 30-minute mark due to an apparent issue with his back. Ronaldo replaced the 26-year-old as United's central striker, with Marcus Rashford and Antony occupying either wing.
ALSO READ : Antony reacts to 'making history' with Man United record vs Everton
Sancho was left out of Ten Hag's starting XI and ended up being an unused substitute. Ferdinand has now admitted he is concerned about the winger's downturn in form that led to his omission from the starting line-up.
Ferdinand told his Vibe with Five YouTube channel : "I haven’t seen [his Bundesliga form] yet. That’s the concerning thing for me. If I’m Jadon Sancho, or in Jadon Sancho’s camp, I am looking at ways in which I can unpick his game, his mind, to unearth the Sancho that made him a coveted talent around Europe.
"His numbers in Germany were great, he was doing marvellous things over there, but it hasn’t transferred over to the Premier League yet, and I don’t know why. What is the reason why? Is it because of the way the team set up? Is it because of the pace of the Premier League?
"Is he getting asked to do more defensively so then he hasn’t got the energy when they’ve got [the ball] in transition? His assists and goal record isn’t great when you compare it to other players in his position.
"So you allow him that time to adapt to this league – he’s had a season of that – and after pre-season, I was thinking, 'Okay, yeah, this looks like we’ve got the Sancho we’ve bought from Dortmund'.
"I think he’s shown this season he can score goals, he scored against Liverpool and Leicester. Sometimes when you’re looking for a bit of form and you’re not playing – he’s worked hard, don’t get me wrong – but a player like Jadon wants to get on the ball, wants to showboat, show his skills.
"If he gets the goals and gets the assists and affects the game in that area, and if he can get himself between the posts more often than not, when he’s in there he’s shown already he’s a calm finisher. He’s a cool, calm and collected finisher.
"But I just want to see the Sancho that I was going crazy about and demanding that he come on during the Euros, because I haven’t seen that."
READ NEXT:
