It’s easy to forget that Jadon Sancho didn’t have any Premier League experience before signing for Man United this summer, so perhaps it was always going to take him a little bit of time to settle in.
He also has a history of slow starts at Dortmund before exploding into life as the season goes on, while it doesn’t sound like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is overly worried about his poor start:
Solskjaer on Sancho vs Villarreal: “Jadon was exceptional, electric, the crowd loved him. I think he felt that connection. That is what we want from him, to be direct, positive, go past players numerous times. I thought, ‘Yeah that’s Jadon, we’re gonna see loads of that.’” #MUFC
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) October 1, 2021
He’s yet to score a goal or provide an assist in his eight appearances so far, but there were signs of life against Villarreal on Wednesday despite a subdued performance from the entire team.
He was often getting the ball to feet on the wings where he would then have at least three yellow shirts on him and giving him nowhere to go, yet he still managed to cause problems and he did look like one of the brighter sparks in the side.
Perhaps he’s also feeling sidelined from the dramatic arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo as the team has become about fitting him into the system rather than playing to Sancho’s strengths, so hopefully, he does start to contribute more soon and his confidence will grow from there.
Maybe I am an idiot or a simple fool but I have an idea that might help Sancho……… Play him on the RIGHT. Why on earth do you buy a player who has been outstanding in our problem position and then play him elsewhere? Because Ole wants a front line that shoots, doesn’t play as a team just shoots. God forbid one of them might get to the byline and put in a cross. He is a moment manager turning United into a moment team