Manchester United’s first team is struggling with consistency, so the hope for good news lies elsewhere in young players and loanees, but one loanee has become a forgotten man.
Man Utd sanctioned 18 loans last summer, and there will be more in January, with the likes of Diego Leon, Sekou Kone, and more up for loan.
Not all loans are made equal, as for every Radek Vitek and Harry Amass shining in the Championship, there’s Toby Collyer’s injury-stricken spell at West Brom.
However, nobody comes close to a certain Man Utd loanee when it comes to underperforming, who has played just 127 league minutes without troubling the scoresheet.
Aston Villa v Arsenal - Premier League
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Jadon Sancho’s situation leaves Man Utd vindicated
When Man Utd are struggling, the easiest stick to beat the club with becomes the performances of the club’s ex-players elsewhere.
It keeps happening with Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund, and Scott McTominay, among others, but the opposite never seems to happen.
WHICH Manchester United loanee have you been most impressed by this season and why?🔥⚽️
Split image of Marcus Rashford in Barcelona jacket looking to the side and Harry Amass in Sheffield Wednesday kit looking to the side.
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
When a player’s stock plunges even deeper after leaving Old Trafford, there’s no vindication for the club, and that needs to change to fight the narrative against United in the media.
More United News
Which is why it’s worth delving into the situation of Jadon Sancho at Aston Villa, who has become a completely forgotten man despite Villa being in roaring form.
After Sancho’s latest 15-minute performance against Arsenal, he’s yet to score or assist for the Villans this season after 16 games in all competitions.
Of those 16 games, he has received only 127 minutes in the Premier League, with Emery clearly not thinking his game is good for English football anymore.
Sancho became a hot topic of discussion in the last two seasons, spending time on loan at Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea, because every fleetingly good performance became a stick to beat United with.
Even those fleeting moments have disappeared this season despite playing in a team that is in the form of their lives.
Potentially tricky Sancho decision made easy
When United were forced to sanction another loan for Sancho last summer after Chelsea paid United not to sign him, the club were left in a tricky position.
Are you confident Man Utd will beat Wolves?
Utd v Wolves graphic
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
Sancho’s contract at United expires next summer, so sanctioning a loan for him was basically acceptance that he’ll leave for free.
The tricky decision was that United held the option to extend his contract by a year.
Had Sancho impressed at Villa, United might have had to think about exercising that option to try and get some fee for him next summer.
As it stands, that tricky decision has been simplified for United, because his form makes it so that the club will just be glad to get him off the books.
Rather than think about whether they should exercise that option, United will be eagerly waiting for next summer when the Sancho decision is made for them.
Just like at Villa, he will be gladly forgotten at United as well.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox