"Fingers crossed, starting from next year, we will see a better Sancho," says Paul Scholes but that's too far away. Manchester United need to start seeing a better Jadon Sancho as soon as possible - starting on Sunday.
United go into the crucial match with Newcastle United severely depleted. Casemiro is suspended, Christian Eriksen is still recovering from injury, Donny van de Beek is out for the season and Marcel Sabitzer is a doubt as well. Nearly all of the midfield could be unavailable.
Then you get to the forwards. It's not yet clear if Anthony Martial is ready to return but even if he is he will be rusty. Alejandro Garnacho is sidelined, Raphael Varane's fitness has not yet been cleared up and it's still not known if Marcus Rashford will have recovered from his own injury in time to feature.
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That's four of Erik ten Hag's guaranteed starters potentially unavailable as well a few first reserves. It's down to the bare bones for the trip to St. James' which has made a tricky match even harder.
United might have been surprised by the comfort with which they dispatched the Magpies in the Carabao Cup final but they were without key players and lost Bruno Guimaraes in the first half. Now they are back to full strength and will be looking for revenge.
But even more important than that will be three points. The optimism around United has perhaps helped hide the fact that a top-four spot is far from secure and a slip-up could see them dragged into the mire of battle.
Newcastle will overtake United on goal difference if they win and then Tottenham, though they have played more games than everyone else, would then be able to leapfrog both if they defeat Everton on Monday. United could very easily end this round of fixtures in 5th place.
It makes Sunday's game massive for both teams and United's ever-growing injury list a major concern. Ten Hag needs his squad to step up to the plate if called upon which is why he needs to see the best from Sancho.
The forward has struggled to rediscover his blistering form since finally moving to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund and has endured a particularly tough season both physically and mentally. He was allowed to leave the squad for several weeks to train individually in the Netherlands and upon his return looked bright and sharp, with crucial goals against Leeds and Leicester earning him delighted celebrations from supporters.
But he has been unable to kick on since then, passively going through games without much impact and not being able to hold a starting berth as a result.
“It is very difficult when you are in and out of the team all the time to find any consistency or any type of form,” Scholes told the Webby & O’Neill YouTube channel. “I think he has shown a lot of flashes of the talent we expected.
“Look, he has been nowhere near what everyone thought we were going to get from Dortmund, but it might take a bit of time for him to settle down in the Premier League and get used to the pace of it. His fitness will get better once he starts playing games week-in, week-out.”
It's been hard for him to play consistently when those ahead of him, including Garnacho, have been making more decisive contributions. As Scholes goes on to say, the left flank is probably his best position but it's also Rashford's and there's no moving him from there a the moment.
Unless, of course, he is injured and it is looking increasingly like he will be on Sunday. If that's the case, Sancho will be the man to come in and it will be difficult to replace a man who is in the form of his life but that's what United will require.
Scholes has given Sancho a generous time frame to find his best form but United will need him to raise to the challenge even sooner with Newcastle starting a run of pivotal fixtures on three different fronts.
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