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If there’s one move that best sums up everything that’s happened with Manchester United over the last ten years, it’s certainly his resolution for Jadon Sancho.
United spent an entire summer chasing him as the number one target, and then failed. The following summer, they picked him up again, paying a payment of £73 million as a reduced price given the amount they had been told a year earlier.
He was given bumper wages and promised a key role under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Weeks later, they tore up those transfer plans to sign Cristiano Ronaldo and shorehorn him into their attack. A few months later, the manager was sacked and Sancho’s key ally was gone.
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Sancho, touted as the long-term solution on the right flank, was much better on the left. He struggled to progress as expected and the writing was already on the wall when the club allowed Erik ten Hag to spend £86 million on Antony a year. Later. Sancho’s feud with the Dutchman last summer was just the final nail in the coffin.
It has been a failure in recruitment and long-term planning as much as it has been a failure of the player himself. The 23-year-old has yet to light up the Premier League and looks set to return to Borussia Dortmund, where he made a name for himself and convinced United to spend so much on him initially.
Sancho may feel disappointed and sidelined by United, but he can’t forget his own role in their downfall. In the end, he wasn’t smart enough and it was him who crossed the baseline when he called out Ten Hag on social media.
Most damning is that after four months out in the cold, few seem to sympathise with his situation and although United have struggled on the pitch, there is little argument that things would have been different if he had been involved.
Sancho’s expected departure this month may not even replace the dynamic at Old Trafford. They’ve long since learned to get by without him, and their failure gives others the chance to succeed.
United have spent £205m on right wingers since their first search for Sancho in 2020, but their solution for the position may simply be a left winger which they signed for £100,000. Alejandro Garnacho has nailed that role as he encouraged United to a comeback victory over Aston Villa on Boxing Day and now looks the favorite to take over the right winger role this calendar year.
The Argentine still wants to perform for a number of games if he wants to become a long-term plan, but his record against Villa was arguably better than Sancho had in his time at the club.
He isn’t the only replacement, either. Ten Hag is under pressure to make Antony, his most expensive signing, a success on the right, while United have also been boosted by the return of Amad from injury. Facundo Pellistri is another option in that position, though he most likely needs a loan move in order to develop.
Sancho made more appearances on the left wing than on the right in his final season with Dortmund and it will be desirable to see where he is used if he completes his loan this month.
Only 4 of Sancho’s 12 goals for the club have come in games where he played on the right. Garnacho has already had part of that overall since his solo start in the same position. In total, Garnacho has 10 goals and seven assists in 62 starts. team appearances; Sancho has 12 goals and six assists in 20 other appearances.
Returning from his loan to Dortmund this month would be a fitting conclusion to Sancho’s unhappy fate at United: a short-term solution to a lack of long-term planning. Garnacho is not just a replacement; It’s also been an improvement.