Jadon Sancho: what could he bring to Man Utd?
The England International has had an extraordinary start to his professional career, and he’s just getting started
Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford are competing against each other for a starting place for England at Euro 2020, but what could the Dortmund wünderkid potentially bring to Rashford’s Manchester United? With Chelsea sealing the deal for Ajax’s Adam Ziyech and Bayern Munich’s long-standing courting of Leroy Sané set to continue, it seems like his other reported suitors are taking a backseat to United’s interest. Thinly veiled admiration for the Kensington star has long drifted out from Old Trafford, so let’s take a deeper look at what he may bring to the Theatre of Dreams.
A Man For The Big Occasion
Far from being overawed, the 20 year old winger has consistently risen to the big occasion during his time in Germany. Whether it be be an assist and a goal slotted past Manuel Neuer in this year’s German Super Cup, a brilliant turn, shimmey and powerful drive past Marc-André ter Stegen at the Camp Nou, or a wonderfully calm finish vs Schalke in the Revierderby in emotional circumstances, a pattern has emerged; the bigger the stage, the brighter the spotlight, the better the performance.
Stat Attack
A quick perusal of the stats quickly paints a vivid picture; Sancho has great awareness and vision on the pitch. Last season was his first full season in professional football, and it’s incredibly easy to forget that fact; he racked up 13 goals and 16 assists in only 43 games. It was an astounding return when you consider that he was regularly playing in the Champions League and the Bundesliga, one of the best leagues in Europe.
This season however, he has gone to another level. In 38 games, he has 17 goals and 19 assists. He is 3rd in the Bundesliga scoring chart, and 2nd in assists...at 20 years old. That is simply outrageous. For a player of his age and experience it’s even more mind boggling. He is already playing at an elite level, with plenty of room for growth. He is also playing in a well performing and attacking team and that must be factored in. Even so, these numbers are exceptional. Some doubt the strength of the Bundesliga, however we only need to look at the humbling defeats dished out by Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig to Chelsea and Tottenham respectively, to see that the Bundesliga is at least at the top end, very competitive. The Premier League may be the richest league in the world, but that doesn’t always necessarily mean best.
Meanwhile, Juan Mata, one of his would-be competitors for a starting berth at Old Trafford, has 2 goals and 5 assists in 31 games. Dan James, in 37 games this season, has 4 goals and 6 assists. James has struggled with the intensity of the Premier League, with his production decreasing and then grinding to a halt in recent times, but he is definitely a talent worth nurturing. Also, Man Utd’s struggles this season must be taken into account. They have consistently struggled to break teams down and play the attacking style Solskjaer wants to implement. Nevertheless, it is clear and obvious why Man Utd are so interested in Sancho.
Style Of Play
When you watch Jadon Sancho play, it becomes very obvious very quickly that he is a special talent with great pace and dribbling ability. Utilised solely on the right by Gareth Southgate so far for England, he is very comfortable playing off the left and all the spaces in between as can be seen this season at Dortmund. He dovetails very neatly with fellow starlets Hakimi and Haaland, or indeed captain Reus; whether it involves one-twos, cutbacks, sliding dangerous crosses across the box or cutting inside from the left, he is a player who thrives on having combination options close by on the pitch. Look at goals no. 16 or no. 5 in the video below for examples of his link up play with Reus. He has a great eye for a pass and knows where his teammates are when he gets to the byline. This season, his dribbling has decreased and his passing accuracy has improved, which shows the increasing maturity in his game as his focus has narrowed on using the ball as efficiently as possible.
He also has a calmness in front of goal which belies his age. Check out in the video above the exquisite technique and patience shown for his goal vs Bayer Leverkusen last season at no. 1; no hint of rushing the shot as he waited patiently for the ball to drop onto his right foot, before expertly redirecting it into the bottom corner, past the despairing dive of the keeper. We have become accustomed to seeing him both on the right side of the box slotting the ball to the keeper’s right, as well as opening up his body on the left side of the box to sweep the ball into the opposite corner. This shows his ability to thrive on either flank, which would bode well for him if he decided to move back to Manchester, to play for the team in red this time.
Growing Pains
Despite a fairly incident free spell at Dortmund so far, in the last few months or so there have been some slight issues regarding his discipline. In October 2019, Sancho arrived late from international duty for England in games vs Czech Republic and Bulgaria, and was consequently dropped for a big game vs Borussia Monchengladbach. Speaking to Kicker, Dortmund Sporting Director Michael Zorc said “We have a responsibility for the club and, in this case, also for the hygiene of the squad. And therefore the decision was without an alternative... He is only suspended today [Saturday]. Jadon is a good lad, but he's very young and shot to the top. He might test his limits and that's why we decided to not call him up today."
Growing up in such a harsh spotlight, it is inevitable that young players will sometimes slip up, and with it only being an issue of timekeeping, it would be silly to let this become too much of a talking point. In fact, speaking a couple of months later in December, Dortmund boss Lucien Favre said of Sancho in an interview with Sport Bild, “He's a world-class player, no question about that. But one shouldn't forget that he's only 19 years old. It's hard to be outstanding in every game...He has to live as professionally as we all do, that's true. But at the same time, we don't want to school him too much. He has to feel good, and that's not easy with everything he experiences.
"He knows that I like him and that we all like him, both as a player and as a person. He's a good kid who helps us a lot on a regular basis. I've rarely seen a player who has come so far at such a young age," Favre underlined.
We mustn't forget that Sancho is still only in his 2nd full season of professional football and therefore is still just at the start of his journey. Despite his meteoric rise so far, if he were to move to Old Trafford there would still need to be a degree of patience as he matures further, both on and off the pitch.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that Sancho would slot straight into this United side, on the right of the attack, alongside Martial and Rashford. Solskjaer has favoured a high tempo quick transition style, which would definitely suit Sancho. More than that though, with Bruno Fernandes in the team, Man Utd look like they now have the quality and interplay to break teams defending in a low block down, an issue they have struggled painfully with this season. Without a defeat in 11 games, the defence tightened and the goals flowing going forward, many see Sancho as the final piece in the puzzle.
Whilst optimism must be tempered with realism, his arrival could truly spark a title challenge if United can find consistency. The prospect of Sancho, Rashford and Martial interchanging position in front of Pogba and Fernandes would truly be enough to scare any team in European Football. Only time will tell if Pogba will stay at Old Trafford, and whether Sancho would decide moving there was the next best step for him. However, if that scenario were to play out, it would be surprising if Man Utd did not mount a serious challenge for the Premier League in the near future.
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