Manchester United may not have any plans for Jadon Sancho moving forward, but there will be major interest in his performances from inside Old Trafford.
United have been tabbed as being something of a ‘graveyard’ in recent years.
The sheer number of players to have excelled before joining or since leaving United is simply ridiculous.
One of the finest examples is Jadon Sancho.
An electric talent at Borussia Dortmund, United chased Sancho in multiple transfer windows before finally landing him in 2021.
The expectation levels were enormous but Sancho never really lived up to them.
We saw Sancho’s talent in fits and starts but without real consistency – and then it all went wrong under Erik ten Hag.
The pair fell out in September, leaving Sancho out in the cold until a loan back to Dortmund was sanctioned in January.
Jadon Sancho terrorises Paris Saint-Germain
Sancho has been getting back towards his best at Dortmund again and and United fan who witnessed Wednesday night’s display against Paris Saint-Germain will have been stunned.
The United loanee was simply incredible and will be giving PSG left back Nuno Mendes nightmares for weeks to come.
Sancho was direct and confident, prepared to really drive at the PSG back line and show an arrogant side to his game that we just haven’t seen often enough at United.
Sancho ended up recording 12 successful dribbles, dancing around PSG players for absolute fun.
Remarkably, Sancho is the first player since Lionel Messi to record 11 or more successful dribbles in a Champions League semi-final.
Former United defender Rio Ferdinand was a stunned, telling TNT Sports at half time – with Sancho already on seven dribbles – that he had found a good stat.
Ferdinand highlighted that Sancho had completed more dribbles at the break than he had in any United appearance.
Ferdinand noted that Dortmund boss Edin Terzic is a big reason for Sancho’s increased confidence, believing that he is getting the best out of him.
“I’m not really one for stats, but I’ve got a good one here,” said Ferdinand. “In 45 minutes, Jadon Sancho has completed more dribbles – which is seven – than he did in any of his 58 appearances for Manchester United, so that is a man with confidence.”
“[It’s the] manager, environment, being in the semi-finals of the Champions League, confidence everywhere and that man [Terzic] is definitely part of that,” he added.
Jason Wilcox could be Sancho’s last hope
United will be loving seeing Sancho’s display.
That kind of performance means that Dortmund will be even more likely to want him back next season, or other clubs will join the race.
Sancho is unlikely to have a future at United but if anybody can give him another chance, it may just be Jason Wilcox.
Wilcox has recently joined the club from Southampton, becoming United’s new technical director.
Wilcox oversaw Sancho’s development in the Manchester City ranks and knows how to get the best out of him.
Reports suggest that Wilcox would be open to trying to reintegrate Sancho at United.
Ineos still feel that Sancho is better off moving on but performances like Wednesday night may just prompt a rethink.
