Jadon Sancho's teething problems at Manchester United (2024)

Before we begin this piece, a small disclaimer: Jadon Sancho is going to have a good Manchester United career.

Forgive us the indulgence of journalistic hedging but Sancho has arrived at the club with time and talent on his side. When he nears the end of his contract in June 2026, these opening few weeks will be described as “a slow start” before many more words will (hopefully) be dedicated to his goals and successful moments he had with the club (before that additional year clause option is activated).

In September 2021 however, it is worth saying that Sancho has encountered some struggles in his early United career. Borussia Dortmund CEO, Hans-Joachim Watzke has not enjoyed the attacker’s early weeks in England, telling German broadcaster Sport1: “I love Jadon. When you see him playing you get tears in your eyes.

“It hurts my soul that he is given so little consideration. I think his problem is that he’s not set in the English national team.”

Sancho’s place in Gareth Southgate’s set-up is its own separate story, but a disappointing Euro 2020 has had a knock-on effect to his start with United. Sancho only earned 97 minutes of playing time during Euro 2020 (across three appearances) and, like many players who featured in the tournament, he was afforded an extended break following its conclusion. A small bout of illness following the tournament meant that while he completed his transfer to United on July 23, Sancho did not have his first full training session with the club until August 9, after United had completed their training camp in Scotland and their final pre-season game against Everton.

Sancho was deemed fit enough to make a 15-minute cameo in United’s opening game of the season — a 5-1 victory over Leeds United on August 14 but a disrupted summer has left him a touch short of his typical match fitness. The winger was among a number of players who featured in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Burnley on August 17 that was “designed to help improve fitness levels and give some of the players game time” ahead of the club’s second league fixture against Southampton, but he only featured for 30 minutes as a substitute in the 1-1 draw St Mary’s. That substitute performance is his only appearance on the right wing in the Premier League, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has instead deployed him on the left of his preferred 4-2-3-1.

There is some merit to the United manager’s use of Sancho so far. Out of the 38 appearances Sancho made for Dortmund in 2020-21, 15 of them came on the left wing, with the 21-year-old operating on that flank in his final 10 Bundesliga games as Gio Reyna and Marco Reus took up space on the right of interim manager Edin Terzic’s systems. Sancho can play as a left-sided attacker, and for a short spell proved himself as one of the best in Germany (he scored six goals and put on four assists from the position in 11 league appearances). In a United team missing Marcus Rashford through injury and boasting Mason Greenwood, who is more than comfortable operating on the right, it makes some sense to deploy Sancho’s direct running and creative threat from the left as a means to vary the attack from Paul Pogba.

Solskjaer’s use of Sancho on the left is also perhaps an attempt to help his winger acclimatise to the Premier League as he builds match fitness, playing in front of the more attacking full-back in Luke Shaw who can offer the sort of overlapping and underlapping runs he typically enjoyed while at Dortmund. Compare Sancho’s touch map from his 30-minute substitute appearance on the right against Southampton…

… to his 72-minute performance against Wolverhampton Wanders, where he featured on the left.

One should remember the smaller sample size for Sancho’s performance against Southampton, but is noteworthy how many more times Sancho was able to get onto the ball in central areas closer to Wolves’ penalty area, safe in the knowledge Shaw’s attacking endeavour would cover the left flank. The 1-0 victory over Wolves did bring the curious sight of Sancho on the left while Dan James played on the right but this appeared to be a tactical move from Solskjaer to use the Welshman to try and nullify the potential threat of Adama Traore. Sancho and Aaron Wan-Bissaka do not have the most complementary playing styles at the moment and there will be an adjustment period when the two men play on the same side, both in attack and defence.

That adjustment period will take some time to begin. Sancho again featured on the left-hand side against Newcastle in United’s first game back after the international break (he withdrew from England duty after their 4-0 victory over Hungary after suffering a knock) and his Champions League debut for the club on the right was cut short due to a 35th-minute red card to Wan-Bissaka against Young Boys. Sancho, a player United have coveted for the better part of two summers as their solution to their right-sided issues, has spent 260 of his first 327 minutes for the club operating on the left.

This should all come good eventually. United pursued Sancho for so long not only because he is one of the better young players in Europe operating on the right, but because he is so much more than your typical “get to the byline and cross” winger. United thankfully have the squad depth to cover his slower integration into the squad and things should be a case of when, rather than if, he’ll take his place as United’s starting option on the right this season.

Prior to United’s game against Aston Villa, Solskajer said that all Sancho needs to be a United success is time and patience. “He’s 21, he’s learning the game, he’s learning how we train, he’s learning how we play, he’s learning the Premier League, but he’s come in hungry to learn.

“We knew his talent, and we signed him with the thought that we are going to have a top forward here for the next 10 or 12 years.

“Jadon’s finding his feet, it’s unfortunate that he fell ill just when he was going to come in, so he was out, and he lost a bit of pre-season. But he is working hard and he will be good.”

Sancho is going to have a good United career. There have just been some teething problems.

(Top photo: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Carl Anka is a journalist covering Manchester United for The Athletic. Follow Carl on Twitter @Ankaman616