Manchester United have struggled to replicate the form they displayed at times throughout 2022/23 during the current campaign as Erik ten Hag finds himself under some pressure.
United have won just five matches out of 11 this season, losing four times in the Premier League while also slipping to defeat against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray in the Champions League as their hopes of reaching the last 16 are drifting out of their hands.
Despite luring the likes of Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount and Andre Onana to the club, the Dutchman missed out on several players who could’ve taken the Red Devils to the next level.
He has also failed to inspire some current United players to take that next step and become truly world-class and Jadon Sancho is a fine example of this, having failed to replicate the form he showed at Borussia Dortmund.
What has happened to Jadon Sancho?
The winger made 41 appearances under Ten Hag last term, scoring seven goals but the season was littered with inconsistency – including three months of absence between November and February – and he was even training by himself after missing out on a place in England’s World Cup squad.
A solid spell towards the end of the season looked as though it would revitalise the youngster, yet he managed just three appearances from the substitutes bench across United’s opening three league matches of 2023/24.
He hasn’t been seen since however, as he was axed ahead of the Arsenal clash at the start of September, with Ten Hag saying afterwards: "On his performance in training we didn't select him."
Sancho responded by releasing a statement on X, where he said: Please don't believe everything you read! I have conducted myself in training very well this week.
"I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won't get into, I've been a scapegoat for a long time which isn't fair!"
This apparent friction has stalled whatever progress he made at Old Trafford towards the end of last season and his market value has dipped as a result.
How much did Man Utd sign Jadon Sancho for?
Sancho had registered 114 goal contributions – 50 goals and 64 assists – across just 137 games at Dortmund, and he was arguably one of the most in-demand young talents on the continent during the summer of 2021.
The winger had starred for England during their run to the Euro 2020 final, and it appeared Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had earmarked the player as someone who could not only improve the United side straight away but be a mainstay in the squad over the coming years.
#1 Paul Pogba
£89m
#2 Antony
£82m
#3 Harry Maguire
£80m
#4 Romelu Lukaku
£75m
#5 Jadon Sancho
£73m
Via 90min
The Norwegian finally secured his signature, splashing out £73m to lure him from Germany, and he was lavished with praise by former Germany midfielder Lothar Matthaus, who said: "He’s a natural footballer. A player who has everything: fantastic speed, great technique, a good eye for his colleagues and that key pass. For me he is a perfect player.”
While he may have been near perfect in the Bundesliga, his spell in England so far has been rather underwhelming, and it now appears as though the £73m that was shelled out to sign him has turned into a colossal waste of money.
What is Jadon Sancho’s market value now?
After two full seasons at United, Sancho is now only valued at €38.7m (£33.5m) according to Football Transfers which represents a staggering decline of 54% from his original transfer fee.
Indeed, his value has continued to decline ever since joining the Red Devils two summers ago and unless he embarks on a stunning resurgence throughout the remainder of the season, the club will struggle to recoup even half of his £73m fee if and when they sell up.
It is a shame to see the player struggling to showcase his talents, especially when he lit up the Bundesliga with his creative abilities and goal-scoring ability.
Why has it gone so wrong at United, and will he ever recapture his previous scintillating form?
Why is Jadon Sancho worth this much?
With Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo among the new signings heading into the 2021/22 season, Solskjaer would have been hopeful of his team's chances of securing their first silverware since 2017.
The Englishman played 38 games across all competitions during his debut campaign in Manchester, yet he struggled to really get off the ground in terms of goals or assists.
He had scored 16 goals and grabbed 20 assists during his final season in Germany with Dortmund, but he couldn’t adapt well to English football as he managed just three goals and three assists, failing to inspire the club to glory.
Indeed, across the whole squad for Premier League performances, he ranked seventh for goals and assists (six), 13th for shots on target per game (0.3), fifth for big chances created (five) and fourth for successful dribbles per game (1.6), clearly indicating that he didn’t have the desired impact the Old Trafford faithful expected.
He managed to improve slightly last term under the Dutchman with regard to goals and assists, ranking third across the squad (nine) while also ranking eighth for shots on target per game (0.4), fifth for big chances created (six) and second for successful dribbles per game (1.3).
These displays, while inconsistent at times, evidently showed some progress towards a brighter future at the club, yet it hasn’t materialised, and he still finds himself on the sidelines after his fallout with the Dutchman.
Sancho is now at a crossroads in his career where it looks as though he will have to depart Manchester in order to return to the sort of form which secured the big-money move to England in the first place.
It's a huge shame for all parties, with journalist Muhammad Butt notably saying it was a "massive waste of talent", and indeed they now must be prepared to lose a lot of money when they eventually sell him on.
This looks inevitable, especially given the events which have taken place recently and Ten Hag must be careful in the future to avoid the same mistakes as his predecessors.