It is sometimes easy to forget that Jadon Sancho is only 22-years-old, such is the speed at which his career exploded into life in Germany.
The Manchester United winger, who left Manchester City to join Borussia Dortmund back in 2017, saw his development go from zero to a hundred miles per hour as a result of his switch to Germany, quickly establishing himself as one of the most exciting youngsters in world football. Blessed with pace, trickery and an eye for goal, the excitement levels surrounding his development boomed overnight.
However, more than a year after returning to Manchester, and this time taking up residency on the red side of the city, his career is threatening to stagnate just that little bit. His first season at Old Trafford was one that featured a catalogue of reasons for why he failed to hit the ground running in the way that so many had expected him to; being part of an an underperforming team, three different managers, permanent or otherwise, and a season that came to an abrupt ending through illness and a family bereavement.
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It was a disappointing debut campaign for him at Old Trafford, that there was no doubt about, but the appointment of Erik ten Hag as manager and a summer of transformation provided Sancho, who scored a very impressive 50 goals and racked up 64 assists in just 137 matches in Dortmund colours, with cause for optimism. It was a fresh beginning.
Sancho, who was recalled to the starting line-up for Sunday's goalless draw with Newcastle United, looked bright and promising during the pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia, scoring three goals in four games. Although they were dead-rubber fixtures that meant nothing more than storing valuable fitness in the legs of the players, Sancho looked rejuvenated and like a man on a mission.
He continued that trend in the 2-1 win over Liverpool in August which secured Ten Hag his first competitive win as United manager. Sancho scored the game's opening goal that night, resulting in Old Trafford exploding with such noise that it could be heard for miles. It was one of the loudest roars that had greeted a United goal for quite some time.
United were up and running and so was Sancho. Just over a week later, the winger scored again, netting the winner in a 1-0 over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. Two goals in his first four appearances of the season and he was almost halfway to matching his tally for the whole of last season.
You could see the confidence flowing through his veins and United's supporters thought they had finally discovered the true wonderkid that they had been chasing for so long. Since that goal at Leicester, however, Sancho has lost his way slightly, despite scoring a well-taken goal in the 2-0 win over Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League last month.
He has started just one of United's last three games and he proved largely ineffective against Newcastle, even though he felt he had a strong case for a second half penalty. Aside from that, and some bursts of energy in the opening exchanges, he did little to grab the attention of anyone watching. He has been passive in recent fixtures and all of the momentum and confidence that he appeared to have sucked in from his goals against Liverpool and Leicester has been sucked back out again.
However, reverting to the original point, Sancho is only 22; he is young, still in development and still adapting to the cut and thrust of the Premier League. He needs time to adjust and patience will be required, although many will question how long he needs to adapt, especially having been the subject of a £70million-plus deal.
But Sancho has time on his side and an example he can take inspiration from. Similarly to himself, fellow forward Marcus Rashford experienced a difficult time last season, meaning he, too, also needed a fresh voice leading the team and new ideas to take inspiration from.
For the most part, he has been excellent so far this season, already matching his goals tally for the whole of last season. He looks confident and is playing with a spring in his step, all while chasing a place in Gareth Southgate's England squad for the World Cup. He has benefitted from Ten Hag's methods and is now repaying his manager.
Sancho, however, has not enjoyed as stellar a campaign as his fellow countryman so far. But the season is long and Ten Hag is still learning more and more about his players. Sancho's time will come.
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