Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has demanded “much more improvement” from Jadon Sancho after he continued his bright start to the season against Sheriff Tiraspol.
The former Borussia Dortmund wideman opened the scoring in Moldova with a fantastic solo effort as he jinked his way into the penalty area before slotting home with a left-footed finish.
It was his third goal of the season in all having found the net against Arsenal and Leicester City in the Premier League. Sancho now looks well on his way to matching his total haul from last term with the £72m having only got on the scoresheet on five occasions throughout the entirety of his debut campaign at Old Trafford.
Despite that, Ten Hag has suggested that the 22-year-old can be even better. Speaking to United’s in-house TV channel, the Dutchman said: “I’m really pleased [for Jadon Sancho]. Another goal… he’s doing well, but I think there’s much more room for improvement for him, because he has so many skills.”
Having been signed as a winger initially, Sancho’s goal against Sheriff actually came from a central position and the Red Devils’ boss has hinted that he has attempted to see how Sancho would fare being slightly more flexible.
He continued: “In preparing the goal with Bruno, he was in the centre-forward position. We did some experiments, bringing Tyrell [Malacia] on the right and Luke [Shaw] on the left, we can be very able, we need that in the season.”
Who was your Man United man-of-the-match in the victory over Sheriff Tiraspol? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Regardless of his positive form so far this season, Sancho was not rewarded with a place in the latest England squad. The Three Lions take on Italy and Germany in the Nations League later this month - their final fixtures ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
The United man will not be playing a part though and Ten Hag has given his verdict on Gareth Southgate ’s decision and hinted that Sancho as well as Marcus Rashford can regain their positions in the national team set-up sooner rather than later.
He said: "It's not up to me, it's the manager of England, I cannot be in his seat, I don't want to do it. They are progressing, they are starting the season well, they will progress even more, I am convinced of that."
Away from Sancho, United managed to secure their first win of this season’s Europa League campaign having fallen to defeat against Real Sociedad last time out. Ten Hag also praised the attitude of all of his players for how they were able to navigate what could have been a testing evening.
“Difficult start. The opponent played really direct, went for the second balls and they won too many in the first minutes. But after a certain period we played better.
“Then you say we can play between the lines, we got depth to our game and scored a great goal. Then we took control of the game.”
