Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager, Manchester United have wasted a lot of money on acquisitions that have failed to materialise. Since its illustrious boss departed in 2013, the Red Devils have reportedly spent more than £1.5 billion.
United have not, in fact, failed miserably with every significant singing endeavour. The club’s new captain, Bruno Fernandes, is a prime example. Considering they paid just £46.6m for him originally, his 79 goals and 64 assists in 239 appearances for the club is amazing production.
On the other hand, some acquisitions have let down both United and the player. The July 2017 signing of Romelu Lukaku by Manchester United is perhaps the finest illustration of this. Even if his 42 goals in 96 outings for the club aren’t terrible per se, they are especially disheartening considering the club paid £75 million for the Belgian.
United spent a lot of money on him, and he presently gets a weekly income, so he might wind up being poorer value for money than previous signings.
Manchester United’s spending on Jadon Sancho
The individual at issue here is Jadon Sancho, an attacker from England, who was signed by United with the high hope of becoming a superstar. United spent £73 million to get Jadon Sancho, but the 24-year-old’s move has not gone according to plan. He is now on loan at Borussia Dortmund.
Sancho is astonishingly still one of United’s top earners, even though he’s away on loan in Germany for the rest of the season. He is the eighth-highest earner for the club, according to Capology, with a weekly salary of £190,000. Amazingly, he has made about £20 million in his first two years with the club. What the previous administration did was, to put it bluntly, horrible.
Marcus Rashford, an England teammate, earns more than him; his £300,000 weekly wage is less than that of two players. For many United supporters, the hope of seeing the two of them wreak havoc on the field for the Red Devils was dashed.
Sancho only managed 12 goals and 6 assists in 82 appearances at United. With 399 games played for the club, Rashford’s total is far higher; he has 131 goals and 64 assists throughout that period. But he isn’t having much success in 2023–24 season, with just eight goals and five assists acrossall competitions. Compared to his compatriot, who has only been involved in five goals, that total is still superior.
Despite playing 56 games together for United, the two only combined for a goal three times: in United’s 2021-22 home game against Southampton, their 2022–23 away game against Leicester, and their 2022–23 away game against Tottenham.
Rashford and Sancho are two players that United may try to trade for this summer. They are reportedly contemplating selling Rashford, according to James Ducker of The Telegraph, but David Ornstein claims they would rather maintain their starting number ten beyond the current season. Sancho, on the other hand, is still a youngster who may leave Old Trafford for greener pastures next year.
A possible road map for Jadon Sancho’s comeback
Even if Sancho had a rough spell when returning to England, he is undeniably a top-tier talent when he’s on fire. His record at Borussia Dortmund is absolutely fantastic, spanning both of his stints there. Sancho has scored 53 goals and set up 66 more in 153 games played.
The 24-year-old has enjoyed a respectable spell on loan so far, contributing to the cause with three goals and two assists. The team he’s been a part of has advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League, where they’ll meet Paris Saint-Germain, the team Kylian Mbappe plays for.
Most observers agree that Sancho would be far more effective in the inside, either as an advanced eight or a number 10, rather than out wide, given his build and skills.
All of today’s top wingers have explosive speed, which Sancho lacks. That’s the fundamental reason. Imagine Vinicius Junior, Rashford, or Kylian Mbappe. While Sancho could have been more at home on the wing in a bygone age, the changes to the game have made him a natural fit for the inside midfield.
Sancho may lack the explosiveness of a contemporary winger, but his skill as a ball handler is what really shines out. In terms of positional similarity among European players, the 24-year-old ranks in the top 7% with 5.68 progressive carries per 90 minutes and in the top 10% with 2.65 carries inside the penalty area per 90 minutes, according to Fbref.
With his agile quickness and low centre of gravity, he can glide in and out of defenders with ease. His tight control is also exceptional. Plus, Sancho has a plethora of techniques at his disposal, which he developed while playing cage football on the streets of Kennington as a kid. In a professional game, he isn’t hesitant to flaunt such skills and even uses them to get past defenders on occasion.
Sancho is a crafty player who can create opportunities in the final third for his teammates, in addition to being a cunning dribbler. He is ranked in the top eight percent of all offensive midfielders and wingers in Europe, with an average of 2.38 passes into the penalty area per 90 minutes. Another stat that puts him in the 80th percentile is his 2.27 critical passes per 90 minutes.
When paired with a winger, fullback, or midfielder, Sancho is a lethal combo player. His great football IQ is on display when he plays in and around the penalty area, when he or a teammate creates opportunities, and when he plays in triangles to evade opponents.
When he returns to the midfield, the forward’s primary worry will be how well he can play without the ball. The youngster, who is just 24 years old, isn’t the strongest player and has been known to lose in physical confrontations. Off the ball, however, he can be effective because to his 5.3 ball recoveries per 90 minutes, which puts him in the top 15% among offensive midfielders and wingers.
Sancho has the potential to be an outstanding centre midfielder, advanced eight, or number ten in the ideal system. However, INEOS will have no choice but to show the Dortmund loanee the exit door at Old Trafford this summer, owing to his record in England.
If a team is seeking to sign a player with his profile, he may still be a smart acquisition. The winger is exceptional in all three areas: carrying the ball, producing creative output, and scoring goals. No one can deny Sancho’s bright future, even if it doesn’t take place in Manchester.
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