Mike Phelan worked closely alongside the £73 million man during his early days at Manchester United.
So he is better placed than most to answer a question that remains on the lips of many Red Devils supporters. Why did a signing which excited so many, which was designed to take Manchester United to the next level, end up so dreadfully underwhelming?
It’s easy to forget, given how the campaign panned out, just how much optimism there was around Man United’s prospects following the summer of 2021.
Cristiano Ronaldo‘s return may have captured the heart, but the arrivals of an elite central defender in Raphael Varane and a superstar-in-the-making in Jadon Sancho captured the mind too. A United side who had finished second in that previous campaign seemingly ready to throw off their bridesmaid’s dress and walk down the aisle under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Jadon Sancho flopped at Manchester United
Three years on, Ronaldo is in Saudi Arabia, his second Man United stint breathing fresh life into that ‘never go back’ cliche. Varane is leaving as a free agent, only an FA Cup and a League Cup to show for his time in England.
Sancho, meanwhile, would take some knocking off the podium if you were to rank the most disappointing signings of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Phelan, who worked with the England international during the dying embers of the Solskjaer era and the short-lived Ralf Rangnick reign, feels that this was simply a classic case of a player struggling to adapt to life in the Premier League.
Sancho, lest we forget, may have been a Man City academy graduate but it was United who handed him his debut in English football after five years with Borussia Dortmund.
“(Manchester United is) a different environment,” Phelan, who was the assistant coach to Sir Alex Ferguson during three Premier League title-winning seasons, tells talkSPORT (30th May, 11am).
“We have to remember, when United took Sancho, he was one of the top players in Europe. He was definitely doing the business. (But) he had not played in the Premier League funnily enough. He left for Germany very, very young.
“Ability; second to none. He was capable of being a top, top Manchester United player and he is still a Manchester United player.”
Mike Phelan defends Sancho’s professionalism
Much has been made of Sancho’s professionalism, or a lack thereof. Former United midfielder Nemanja Matic opened up on the winger’s troubles with timekeeping, while that bitter fall out with Erik ten Hag occurred after the manager criticised his performances on the training pitch back in September.
As far as Phelan is concerned, however, he did not see come across these issues first-hand.
“(Sancho) did apply himself. He’s a breath of fresh air. He wasn’t (late for training) when I was around,” Phelan adds. “But obviously something has happened which has shifted him back to Germany.
“He looks like he loves playing in that (Dortmund) environment. Maybe its the appreciation that club has of him.”
With the Champions League finalists admitting that they may struggle to stump up the sort of fee United want to sign Sancho permanently, the 24-year-old could soon find himself back at Carrington for the start of pre-season.