It is fair to say that Jadon Sancho did not live up to expectations in his first season at Manchester United.
Sancho would join United last summer. The winger is reported to have set The Red Devils back £73m.
At the time, Sancho’s signing seemed like a major coup. Man United were crying out for a natural right-winger and, owing to Sancho’s impressive stint in Germany with Borussia Dortmund, it seemed as though he was the man needed to address the issue.
Sancho scored 16 and assisted 20 in just 38 outings for Dortmund during the 2020/21 season, after netting 20 and assisting 20 in 44 games the campaign prior.
So, considering his price-tag and previously impressive form, expectations were understandably high when the 21-year-old signed for Man United.
However, Sancho went on to provide just five goals and three assists across 37 outings during his debut season at Old Trafford.
Speaking in a recent interview, though, the England international appeared to suggest that last campaign’s struggles were down to him missing pre-season, which led to a lack of fitness and understanding of his teammates:
“I think it will be good for myself. The training, especially in pre-season, has been a real positive and all the lads have taken on board what he’s saying.
“You can see it in the games, we’re creating a lot more chances, keeping the ball more and just making good things out of the style we’re playing. This is my first pre-season with United because, last year, I had an infection in my ear, so I couldn’t do the whole pre-season with the team which was a bit annoying at the time.
“It meant a lack of fitness and understanding of how the players play. But now, this season, I feel a lot more comfortable and, especially scoring in pre-season, it is a confidence boost for myself and, hopefully, I can take that into the season and keep it going.
“This pre-season, we have the same players, but it just looks like a whole different team and I do think that’s something we’re working on and I feel like we’re getting better. The manager is big on team-bonding and having fun together and doing things like team dinners and things like that. So, yeah, it’s helping.”
With Sancho now fully fit and having enjoyed a solid pre-season this summer, United fans will be expecting big things from the Englishman come August.
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