Manchester United fans could soon see Jadon Sancho back in a red shirt — but not as soon as this weekend in the FA Cup fourth-round match with Reading.
The Red Devils eased past Burnley in their first game back from the World Cup break with a 2-0 Carabao Cup victory at Old Trafford, and cup wins over Charlton Athletic and Everton followed as part of a nine-game winning run in all competitions that included a 2-1 comeback victory over Manchester City.
That sequence was ended when Crystal Palace held them to a 1-1 draw on January 18 and they were beaten 3-2 by Premier League leaders Arsenal four days later. They returned to winning ways as they eased past Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinals.
United winger Jadon Sancho was absent for all of those matches. The winger has completed 90 minutes in the Premier League just once since the start of October and has not played for United since the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on October 22.
He began working individually to regain sharpness during the World Cup and rejoined United team training just days before the Arsenal game. His return could be around the corner.
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Will Jadon Sancho play against Reading?
United manager Erik ten Hag was asked about Sancho’s possible return ahead of the game with Reading at Old Trafford.
When quizzed on whether Sancho could be in the matchday squad, he replied: “He is training with the team and we will see. He is improving, he is making steps, [and] we will make the decision after the training.
“He’s on the way back, he’s making steps, so he’s back in team training and now we have to see when he is ready to go back into the games.”
However, with the team news now out, Sancho has not been included in the matchday squad.
What’s happening with Jadon Sancho?
Sancho has now not been in the squad for United’s past 16 games, including the match against Reading, in all competitions and has only completed 90 minutes once since mid-September.
After being overlooked for England’s World Cup squad, the 22-year-old began training with coaches recommended by United manager Ten Hag in a bid to improve his match sharpness, both physically and mentally. Ten Hag did not put a time frame on his possible return, but Sancho has been training well with the first team in the past 10 days.
Sancho’s struggles are notable given the fanfare that greeted his arrival at Old Trafford. United’s attempts to sign Sancho ahead of the 2020/21 season were thwarted by Borussia Dortmund but they returned with an improved offer a year later to sign him for a reported fee of £73 million ($100 million).
After a slow start to the 2021/22 campaign, he ended the season with five goals in all competitions, despite the managerial upheaval at Old Trafford.
The early signs under Ten Hag looked positive, with Sancho starting in United’s first six Premier League games of the season and scoring key goals in wins over Liverpool and Leicester City.
However, a bout of tonsillitis and the arrival of Antony saw him edged out of the starting XI, and his morale took a major blow when he was omitted from England’s squad for the World Cup in Qatar. He then began training individually, following a suggestion from Ten Hag, at Dutch club OJC Rosmalen.
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What has Ten Hag said about Sancho?
Sancho lost his place as a starter under Ten Hag prior to the World Cup, which prompted speculation on his long-term intentions for the former Manchester City youngster.
The Dutch coach hinted at his omission from England’s UEFA Nations League squad in September as a crucial downturn for Sancho as his confidence began to slip.
“Sometimes there are circumstances with fitness and mood. He is not currently in the right status or fitness state,” Ten Hag said during the World Cup in December.
“I’ve had several talks with Jadon. He’s on a physical programme and our aim is to get him back as quickly as possible, but I can’t give a prognosis of when that will be.
“At the start of the season, he had goals and assists, but his key moments and key actions became less and less. It’s a combination of physical, but also mental. We’re trying to work and get him back to his best.”
Erik ten Hag has revealed Jadon Sancho has not been “in the right fitness state” as he trains away from the Manchester United first team. pic.twitter.com/AYC7x8aptb
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 14, 2022
Sancho was not included in United’s World Cup training camp in Spain, instead travelling for a specialist programme in the Netherlands. His progress has been gradual, but Ten Hag has most been positive about his work.
Ten Hag was quizzed about the latest on Sancho following the Burnley win, but he gave a perfunctory reply when he was asked for an update on when Sancho will return to the United fold.
“Do you have any update on Sancho and when he’s coming back?”.
Erik ten Hag: “No”.@footballdaily #MUFC 🔴🎥 pic.twitter.com/15LaEWWubI
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 21, 2022
Ten Hag has since made it clear they will be patient with Sancho, but his comments on January 27 about Sancho’s productive training sessions indicated his return could be soon.
🎙”He is training… We will see”
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag revealed how far away he thinks Jadon Sancho is from playing for the club again 👀 pic.twitter.com/tKbjHDtw6w
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 27, 2023
Jadon Sancho transfer fee
United’s 2020 interest in Sancho ended when they were unable to agree a fee with Dortmund, who were eager to recoup a significant fee for a player who had shone for three years in the Bundesliga.
Despite the stand-off, United returned with an improved £73m ($100m) offer in July 2021, and Dortmund accepted, with Sancho agreeing a five-year deal at Old Trafford.
The move represented a huge profit for Dortmund. They paid around £8m/$9.6m to bring him in from the Manchester City academy in 2017.
Dortmund have established a policy of looking to sell one key player per season, with Sancho’s 2021 move followed by Erling Haaland joining Manchester City in 2022, and a potential 2023 exit for Sancho’s England teammate Jude Bellingham.
MORE: How World Cup star Bellingham evoked Paul Gascoigne memories for England
Jadon Sancho stats
Sancho has endured a mixed overall career at United, with just eight goals and four assists in 51 appearances across all competitions since the start of 2021/22.
Those numbers show a major dip from his Dortmund days, where Sancho plundered 50 goals and 64 assists in his four seasons in Germany.
78 – Since the start of the 2018-19 season Jadon Sancho has been directly involved in 78 goals in the Bundesliga (37 goals, 41 assists), no Englishman recorded more goals and assists in Europe’s top 5 leagues in that period. Farewell. https://t.co/mqdcBhVj88 pic.twitter.com/pxXmbuRiQZ
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) July 1, 2021
In 2022/23, Sancho has scored three goals and set up another in 14 games for United in all competitions. He has been substituted 10 times, the most of anyone under Ten Hag, highlighting his lack of impact in many of his appearances.
However, Sancho has managed an average of 1.69 chances created per 90 minutes, which was a better return than Antony (1.41), Anthony Elanga (1.41), Marcus Rashford (1.14) and Cristiano Ronaldo (1.03), according to Opta data as of December 26.
Will Man United sell Jadon Sancho?
Sancho looks unlikely to leave United in the January window despite facing a battle to prove himself to Ten Hag. United consider him a first-team player — one in whom a significant amount of money has been invested — and the manager is giving him the chance to regain fitness and focus before coming back to push for a return to regular football.
There has been speculation United could let Sancho leave on loan in January in a bid to reinvigorate the player, much as they did with Jesse Lingard, who thrived during a spell at West Ham in the second half of 2021/22. However, with Cristiano Ronaldo having left the club, Ten Hag is unlikely to sanction further attacking departures midway through the season unless he can bring in replacements, despite the arrival of Wout Weghorst on loan.
Still, if Ten Hag remains unconvinced by the end of the campaign, Sancho could become available for transfer, particularly with United eager to generate extra funds through player sales. The prospect of a return to the Bundesliga, perhaps to Dortmund, could appeal.
Premier League 2022/23 TV channels, live streams
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | — | |
| Hong Kong | — | Now TV |
| India | Star Sports | Disney+, Hotstar, JioTV |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport | Astro Go |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sport Now, Sky Go |
| Singapore | StarHub | StarHub TV+ |
| UK | Sky Sports, BT Sport | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime |
| USA | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo | fuboTV, Peacock |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and BT Sport streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on fuboTV. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via fuboTV in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).