Jadon Sancho signed for Manchester United when Michael Carrick was a coach and played well during his three games in charge of the club.
Jadon Sancho and Michael Carrick
Jadon Sancho scored twice in Michael Carrick's three games in charge in November 2021
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There was a moment during Michael Carrick's first spell in the Manchester United dugout where it looked like things were about to click for Jadon Sancho.
The £73million winger scored twice in Carrick's three games in charge in November 2021, netting against Villarreal and Chelsea as the young winger continued to settle into life at Old Trafford.
Sancho arrived in the summer of 2021 as part of a whirlwind transfer window that also saw the signings of Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo, but the excitement never really translated to the pitch. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was gone by the end of November, Ronaldo's spell would end in tears and Sancho has become the forgotten man at United.
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He is now into the final four months of the very first contract he signed at United and hasn't played for them in the Premier League since August 2023, and while Carrick attempted to leave the future open-ended on Friday, everyone knows Sancho's days at United are done.
He might be back at Old Trafford on Sunday, but he will be ineligible to play for Aston Villa as part of his loan agreement, and with one goal and one assist in 29 games, he has hardly set the world alight in the Midlands this season.
This wasn't supposed to be how Sancho's story went. United tried to sign him in the summer of 2020, only to be put off by a €100million asking price. A year later, they got their man, agreeing on a fee of £73million with Borussia Dortmund.
United ignored warnings about Sancho's professionalism to do the deal, but they proved well-founded, and an explosive falling out with Erik ten Hag when he was left out against Arsenal at the start of September 2023 proved to be the final straw. Sancho took to social media to essentially call his manager a liar after Ten Hag cited poor performance in training for leaving him out.
That was when Carrick had left the club and he watched from afar as what should have been a promising United career unravelled, to the point where he will be an afterthought when his departure is confirmed this summer.
"You can never be surprised with anything in football," said Carrick. "I think it's one of those things. Sometimes you come to a club, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't quite work. That's natural; it happens at every club.
"Jadon’s got talent, that's why he came to the club to start with and he's had some really good moments. For whatever reason, I don't know, I've not been here for a period of time, and he's ended up finding himself at Aston Villa. He had a good spell at Dortmund as well [in 2023/24], Champions League final, so he's certainly got talent."
Sancho has spent the last three seasons away from Old Trafford on loan, at Dortmund, Chelsea, and now Aston Villa, but has only ever briefly suggested he can fulfil the promise he showed as a youngster in the Bundesliga. Rather than sign him permanently for £25million last summer, Chelsea opted to pay a £5million penalty clause to return him to Old Trafford.
Despite his struggles, Carrick is in no doubt about the talent the 25-year-old still has as he ponders his next step away from Old Trafford.
"I think in and around the box, his ball carrying, his little plays, connections, his creativity and around the box," said Carrick. "He's got natural ability, you know, I think he's always had it all the way coming through.
"From seeing Jadon close up, technically he's got an awful lot, an awful lot of ability, and that's hence the clubs he's played for on the level that he's played for."
Sancho will remain stuck on 83 United appearances. Signed to fill a slot on the right wing, he soon insisted he had a preference for playing on the left, where the competition was fierce for United, and he only ever showed flickers of the talent Carrick believes he has.
"I think part of playing at a top club and a big club is establishing yourself regardless," said Carrick. "I'm not talking about Jadon individually on this.
"Whoever signs in this club, you've got to then play well enough, earn your right to play in the team, it’s not a given just because you end up having a run on the team to then find your way through it.
"And this is not about Jadon, trust me, it's not an individual thing. It's just that's how it is, that's how it should be. So, you can't just assume that it's all going to be smooth."