With the Covid-19 Pandemic inflicting havoc across the world, the football season has been suspended indefinitely since mid-March and we have been forced to watch toilet roll challenges and Instagram Lives. However, the Bundesliga and Germany have paved the way by successfully restarting their season thanks to proactive testing and regulations. The one player to watch out for as Manchester United fans as football returns is Jadon Sancho. Throughout the past year and in this virtual off season, the rumors of Jadon Sancho returning to the Premier League and Manchester United have received a significant amount of buzz in the tabloids. And it seems that ever since Jadon Sancho left for Germany, he was always destined to return to his homeland, and the only question is when and not if.
However, in recent times, with every club including United struggling with revenues, it is unsure whether the red devils will be able to engineer a move for the Englishman this summer. Even Fabrizio Romano stated that “The reality is Man Utd are in love with Jadon Sancho. They want to sign him, and I think if coronavirus was not going to affect the transfer market, Man Utd were going to make an important offer for him.” “The main problem is between Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund. It’s not just a problem for Man Utd, it’s the same problem for other top clubs. It’s impossible to think that a club will spend a lot of money for this player.”
According to Romano, even Dortmund’s director of Football Michel Zorc seems to be relaxed as they know Sancho has an important value and can afford to stay in Germany for an additional year before being sold for a higher price in the summer of 2021.
Jadon Sancho started off his youth career at Watford before joining Manchester City at the age of 14 where he quickly moved up the ranks at the Etihad. Jadon Sancho was widely known around England as the next big thing and the City chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak stated he would be fast tracked into the senior set up in May 2017. However, after issues with his playing time, he forced a move to Borussia Dortmund in 2017 for a fee of around 8 million pounds. Since his arrival in Germany, he has had a meteoric rise and is now one of the best young footballers on the planet.
In his 3 seasons in Dortmund he has scored 31 goals and has also bagged 42 assists. Last season, he finished the Bundesliga with 14 assists, and at age 19 he was the second highest assistor in Europe’s top 5 leagues behind Eden Hazard. More impressively, this season he has elevated his game bagging 17 goals and 19 assists so far, averaging a goal contribution every game. There have been a few bumps in the road though for Sancho in Dortmund. After returning late from Three Lions duty in October, Sancho was dropped and fined, and also publicly criticised by sporting director Michael Zorc.
Sancho’s contract runs out in 2022 and his current valuation is 117 million Euros. There are plenty of suitors out there such as Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona that would love to sign him. But it looks like England is his preferred destination, and Manchester United are the favourites to sign him, should he leave.
Style of play
Jadon Sancho is predominantly a winger who plays on the right and he possesses flair, a bag of tricks and some blistering pace. He loves to run with the ball at his feet and cut inside from the wings, averaging, 2.6 dribbles per game this season in the Bundesliga. He also has the vision and creativity to find runs of teammates with incisive through balls in between players and is currently averaging 2.2 key passes per game.
Sancho is also very expressive when he gets on the ball and he takes defenders on in 1 v 1 situations and runs the ball into space behind a defense. He is extremely skillful with the ball on his feet and is very good in tight spaces.
At the Westfalenstadion, Lucien Favre uses Sancho on the right side of the attack in his structured 3-4-2-1 formation. One of the strengths of the BVB team this season has been creating goalscoring chances from wide areas and majority of those come from Sancho and Thorgan Hazard who have 15 and 11 assists apiece. Sancho is a nightmare for fullbacks and defenders and the standout thing about him is his end product which seems so polished for such a young player.
Sancho’s decision making is brilliant for a 20-year-old. He knows when the right time is to hold the ball or release it and pass or shoot, creating 2.6 chances per game. Despite his youth, he already has mastered the final ball and finishing which is evident by the fact that he has already put up double figures in both goals and assists this season, the only other person who has done that so far in Europe’s big 5 leagues is Lionel Messi.
Sancho’s profile makes him a perfect fit for Manchester United. His pace, agility and ability to play on the counter-attack is something United have been longing for, for quite some time. Moreover, Manchester United desperately need a right winger and Sancho plugs that gap perfectly. The Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal is long gone, Juan Mata is nothing more than a role player and although Dan James has showed glimpses of potential, he is far from the finished article and has started too many games for United this season after his move from Swansea. There is an open space at right wing which Jadon Sancho can easily slot into.
How United can line up with Sancho
If United were to sign Sancho, he would be utilized in the right side of the 4-2-3-1 system used by Ole which is quite similar to what his role is in Dortmund. Along with Rashford and Martial, the 3 of them will form quite an explosive front three which would be direct and deadly on the counter-attack. Furthermore, each of them has the ability to play out wide or through the middle, so Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would be able to use them interchangeably depending on who they are facing. They could also easily swap sides and positions during the game to wreak havoc and confusion in opposition defenses.
Playing in the hole behind them is Uniteds current new star signing and February’s Premier League player of the month Bruno Fernandes. Sancho’s presence on the wing would only benefit a player like Fernandes. Sancho will be able to spread the pitch with his width and stretch opposition defenses, leaving more space for players like Fernandes to utilise to create chances or have shots on goal.
The midfield double pivot, of the increasingly impressive Fred and Paul Pogba if he stays can also stand to benefit from Sancho’s presence in the team. Pogba likes to make marauding runs from midfield into the box, and a player like Sancho has done really well at Dortmund in finding players such as Axel Witsel and Delaney making these late runs into the box.
Sancho will also boost the overall mood and atmosphere around Old Trafford if he signs. He will bring back a sense of optimism and give United the extra firepower they need to challenge the noisy neighbors and their age-old rivals down the M62 and break the hegemony that has ruled over England for the past 3 seasons.
The traditions rooted in Manchester are those of Marauding wingers running down the wing and this attacking philosophy seems to have been lost in recent years. And with the signing of the English sensation, United can work towards restoring that attacking pride. Greats such as Best, Beckham and Ronaldo have worn the historic number 7 shirt and Jadon Sancho could be the next in line to grace the hallowed turf in Manchester, don this mantle and etch his name in glory at the Theater of Dreams.
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