Jadon Sancho has been somewhat of a slow burner at Manchester United this season - but perhaps his club should have listened to Jamie Carragher a little sooner.
The England winger, 21, initially struggled for form following his £73million switch from Borussia Dortmund last summer - more than a year after United had originally began making efforts to sign him. His arrival was met with plenty of anticipation, though that quickly turned to scrutiny as Sancho failed to get going at Old Trafford.
It was arguably only after the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did fans get a real glimpse of what the youngster can offer, with two goals in as many games immediately after the Norwegian's departure. Yet Ralf Rangnick appeared to struggle with the same conundrum after starting his reign - until making a key change that Carragher had highlighted when the season was only just getting underway.
Sancho was hailed as the solution to Man Utd's right wing problem - one which had struggled to be filled with any real aplomb since the days of Cristiano Ronaldo. It was somewhat ironic when the same player's return then diminished Sancho's chances of playing time.
However, Rangnick has found plenty of joy in recent months by deploying Sancho on the opposite flank. The interim coach's decision to finally settle on a 4-3-3 formation, couple with the disappointing form of Marcus Rashford, allowed Sancho a chance to try his hand from the left flank, just as he had done so successfully in the Bundesliga.
Indeed it was Carragher who pointed out when making his predictions for the season, that it is from that area where Sancho could prove the most devastating. "I think he could be a superstar, I really do," Carragher told Sky Sports. "You look at his numbers in German football. Gary [Neville] has mentioned that they need this player on the right side, at times I think he is as good on the left if you look at his stats."
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After shaking off some of his early season struggles, Sancho has now bagged two Premier League goals under Rangnick, while also providing three assists - all of which have come from the left-hand side. His only other goal in that period - a superb strike against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup - also came from a position to the left of the penalty box.
His most recent goal against Manchester City was a brief glimmer of joy for United fans amidst an otherwise sorrowful afternoon, which laid bare how far the club have slipped from their former glories. Much of Sancho's difficulty in settling at United this season could perhaps be attributed to the chaos at his new employers, with few faces coming out of this season with their reputations in tact.
Yet with a new manager due to come in the summer, Sancho is beginning to find his feet, which bodes well for his club, just as Carragher anticipated when he doubled down on his pre-season claim that the winger was the one to watch in this campaign.
"I'm not trying to back out of it," Carragher said in December. "I wanted to actually watch Jadon Sancho because I had spoken so much about how well he'd done at Dortmund. And I think at the end of last season we didn't put him in our Euros squad and we got a lot of stick for that on social media. I hadn't seen enough from him and when I’d seen him in an England shirt I hadn’t been that impressed.
"He was one to watch as in 'I want to see what he's about'. Listen, it hasn't started well for him, but he's still a young player, he's got plenty of time, a few years at United, but you'd definitely want a bit more from him, no doubt."
