Shaw offers support for under fire Sancho
Things have hardly gone according to plan for Jadon Sancho after the England winger made his return to England this summer.
The former Manchester City product completed his expected move away from German giants Borussia Dortmund for £72million in what was a summer window filled with great anticipation for the Manchester United faithful. The England youngster joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphaël Varane in what was meant to be a preemptive warning shot across City’s bow before the Red Devil’s assault on the Premier League.
But Sancho has not hit the ground running at Old Trafford like Ronaldo has as the former Die Schwarzgelben star has yet to open his account under Ole Gunnar Solskjær, nor has he registered an assist.
Luke Shaw is not worried about his club and international colleague however, insisting that Sancho has what it takes to get to the pinnacle of the sport.
Luke Shaw: “The talent he [Sancho] has is unbelievable, he can go right to the very top. It’s just about him staying focused, keep doing what he’s doing in training and working hard. His time will come.” #mulive [@talkSPORT]
— utdreport (@utdreport) October 7, 2021
Luke Shaw on Jadon Sancho: “Sometimes, for people, it takes time. I wouldn’t say struggle because I don’t think he’s struggling at the moment. He’s working extremely hard behind closed doors.” #mulive [@talkSPORT]
— utdreport (@utdreport) October 7, 2021
Shaw himself went through a period of uncertainty at United before becoming a key asset to the club, and given the talent that Sancho unquestionably possesses, it is only a matter of time before he finds his feet back home.
Expectations high for a talented youngster
Though Man United already can boast young attacking talents through Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, and even Amad Diallo, the acquisition of Sancho was meant to take the club up another level and pushing equal terms with rivals Man City.
Sancho performed brilliantly during his time in the Ruhr valley at Dortmund, hitting 50-goals and adding 64-assists in just 137-appearances across all competitions.
With a direct goal contributions of 0.83/match, there was arguably no more important figure to the Westfalenstadion outfit other than Erling Haaland.
DORTMUND, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 09: Jadon Sancho of Dortmund hits the post during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim at Signal Iduna Park on February 09, 2019 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)
But the adjustment period when swapping leagues – and clubs – is always a testing one. Various reasons can factor into why a gifted player may not hit the ground running, and there is no denying that United to not operate the same on a tactical level as Dortmund does.
This is not a question of league quality comparisons, but of player fit and utilization. Should OGS tweak the system to get the best out of his brightest attacking stars, United will surely push for honors in the very near future. Hopefully, Jadon Sancho could be one of the reasons why.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Chelsea FC | 7 | 12 | 16 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 7 | 11 | 15 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 7 | 11 | 14 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 7 | 8 | 14 |
| 5 | Everton FC | 7 | 5 | 14 |
| 6 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 7 | 3 | 14 |
| 7 | Brentford FC | 7 | 4 | 12 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 | -4 | 12 |
| 9 | West Ham United | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 7 | 1 | 10 |
| 11 | Arsenal FC | 7 | -5 | 10 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 7 | -1 | 9 |
| 13 | Leicester City | 7 | -3 | 8 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 7 | -3 | 7 |
| 15 | Watford FC | 7 | -3 | 7 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 7 | -7 | 6 |
| 17 | Southampton FC | 7 | -5 | 4 |
| 18 | Burnley FC | 7 | -6 | 3 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 7 | -8 | 3 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 7 | -14 | 1 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 6 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 4 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 3 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 3 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 3 |
| Lukaku, Romelu | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 3 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Hwang, Hee-chan | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 3 |
| Greenwood, Mason | Manchester United | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 2 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 2 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 4 |
| Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 4 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 0 | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 3 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 3 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 3 |
| Veltman, Joel | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 3 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 3 |
| Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Djenepo, Moussa | Southampton FC | 0 | 3 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 0 | 1 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 2 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 2 |
| Jimenez, Raul | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 2 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 0 | 2 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 2 |
| Alonso, Marcos | Chelsea FC | 0 | 2 |
| Ward Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 1 | 1 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 3 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 2 |
| Jimenez, Raul | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 2 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Azpilicueta, Cesar | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 2 |
| Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 2 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 2 |
