Jadon Sancho needs to take more risks on the ball in order to regain his confidence, according to former Manchester United stars David May and Rio Ferdinand.
Sancho has been targeted for criticism recently for ineffective performances on the wing for United. The £73million winger has contributed three goals and one assist in 14 appearances across the Premier League and Europa League this season.
He was substituted just 52 minutes into United’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea on the weekend and is still yet to hit the heights he managed at Borussia Dortmund, where he starred with 50 goals and 64 assists in 137 games. Sancho’s place in Erik ten Hag’s side is under pressure going into Thursday’s Europa League match against FC Sheriff.
Both May and Ferdinand believe he needs to stop focusing on retaining possession and instead try to beat full-backs and get crosses into the box. “I think when he played for Dortmund he was that type of player who would take players on. He was really exciting,” May told Mirror Football , speaking on behalf of 888sport.
“It gets said so many times: on his day he’s fantastic. But there are too many inbetween days where he isn’t like that, where he’ll have glimpses of brilliance and you go ‘Wow, yes that’s the Jadon Sancho we want to see’. I think with any forward – you look at Antony on the other side, he’s not afraid to do that. He might get the ball taken off him. His final ball isn’t 100 per cent yet. But you can see, the way he plays to the way Sancho plays is totally different.
“He’s loving the fact that he’s got the opportunity to take full-backs on. With [Diogo] Dalot behind him doing the overlaps, they’ve got the perfect partnership there, they really have, they cause trouble. I think Antony has been very good.
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“But going back to Jadon, I still don’t think we’ve seen the best of him. If he could get that mentality of ‘Do you know what? I’m going to take the full-back on. If I try 10 times and get past him four times then I might set up a goal’. But the fact that he does keep on passing back – if you’re a full-back then you stop the line and it’s a near enough done deal that he’ll go back.
“He’s got to look at himself and change his mentality and think ‘Sod it, I’m going to go for it.’ Just keep doing it because United fans will always back a winger. We’ve been blessed with wingers over the years who attack full-backs. He’s just got to change his mentality, take players on and think ‘I’m having you’ and then you’ll see a completely different player.”
Sancho has just eight goals and five assists in 52 appearances for United and his club form has seen him drop out of Gareth Southgate’s thinking ahead of the World Cup next month. Ferdinand has been encouraged by United’s recent performances, but thinks Sancho is a weak link at present.
“The confidence and the swagger when he walked through the doors at Old Trafford isn’t there right now,” he said on Vibe with Five. “He’s just coming back out and playing back and recycling the ball. This isn’t you man.
“I don’t know what it is and Antony has been the same in some games. A lot of the times he comes back, doesn’t go on the outside or cross the ball. He’s exciting but he’s still passing the ball back a lot.
“With Sancho I just feel that it’s in there and what I will give him credit for is his defensive work. His shape has been good but it’s the other side of the game that’s missing and that’s why we bought him. We didn’t buy him to be a defender, we bought him to destroy teams. I want to see more from him and Anthony in that area.”
David May, was speaking on behalf of 888sport. Head to 888sport for the latest sporting odds.
