Jadon Sancho, a star for Manchester United, has fallen short of expectations at Old Trafford, but his new role under Erik ten Hag may have finally allowed him to reach his full potential.
The Red Devils paid Borussia Dortmund £73 million for the 22-year-services old’s during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure, but he has yet to demonstrate the sparkling form that made them do so. Sancho has made 57 appearances since then, although only ten of those have resulted in goals.
Yet, he did score one of those goals in his most recent game, coming off the bench to complete a great team plays in the 3-0 rout of Leicester. Sancho’s goal also allowed him to tie his total goal total from his whole first season as a Red Devil.
Sancho was given a slightly different role by Ten Hag, yet United supporters will be hoping that he finally makes an impact on the Red Devils’ side with an in-form Marcus Rashford.
Sancho, who had initially been a substitute, was brought in in a more central position, with Wout Weghorst directing the line, Rashford, who had two goals against Leicester, positioned on the left, and Bruno Fernandes slightly more on the right side. Given that the 23-time England international had primarily played as a wide player when playing for Dortmund and United, it was a slightly odd request made of him.
Alejandro Garnacho was replaced by Sancho at halftime at Old Trafford, which led to a change in the United forward line. Ten Hag gave an explanation for his choice, saying, “In the second half, we play by our own principles and game regulations.
Therefore, as you can see, we are controlling the game after transferring the game plan. And with Jadon on the field, there was plenty of room in the midfield area to move him there in order to have players playing in between the lines and provide more dynamics, and it worked exceptionally well with him and Bruno on that side.
“And I believe that we press more effectively with Wout up front. That’s because we are more in charge, in charge, influencing the game, finishing the game, and it’s a merited victory in the end. The first goal’s significance, though, is crucial.
In fact, Ten Hag had already switched things up once, using Sancho in the position for a quick cameo against Nottingham Forst in the Carabao Cup. The Dutchman now appears even more convinced. He seemed to have been inspired to keep going. After a lackluster first quarter, the Red Devils appeared much more composed and dangerous after the half.
After examining the underlying data, Sancho was unquestionably more dangerous when outside his goal. The 22-year-old had three shots against Leicester, one of which was on target, according to Opta through FBRef. This is a significant rise from his average of 0.8 shots per game in the Premier League this season.
In addition, he made three crucial passes for his teammates against the Foxes. Again, that represents a notable improvement over his performances from the beginning of the season, when he was only averaging 1.9 points per game in league play.
Although it may still be too early to say whether Sancho’s center position will serve United well for the rest of the season, legendary Red Devil Gary Neville is already impressed. “It’s an interesting position, seeing Sancho at that number 10 in this second half,” he stated during the win over Leicester.
“You would believe that Rashford would play best as a center forward or on the left, as none of them enjoy playing on the right. Let them both in, it might be a solution.
Erik ten Hag, we weren’t surprised to see Rashford moved from a central position and placed there, but it’s working.
Now that we are seeing it, the manager has noticed something he loves in training.
In a week that may or may not define the Red Devils’ season, Sancho will undoubtedly be hoping to maintain his efforts against Leicester. Prior to playing Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final over the weekend, Ten Hag’s team first faces Barcelona at Old Trafford on Thursday in the Europa League playoff decider.
It’s unclear if Sancho will receive just his second start since October due to his ongoing fitness concerns this season, but it seems fairly likely that he will play in the new position that Ten Hag has given him in either case.