Jadon Sancho is looking as confident as he ever has since joining Manchester United.
He found the net against Middlesbrough in United’s last home game and was one of the brighter performers in the 1-1 draw with Burnley on Tuesday.
In those two matches, Sancho played on the left, with Marcus Rashford, which is a slightly surprising turn of developments.
It was thought that Sancho was bought to solve United’s issues on the right of midfield, while Rashford has always looked more comfortable on the left.
Speaking to United’s website, former Red Devil Ben Thornley said that he has been impressed with Sancho lately, but wants to see him getting more crosses in and going down the outside more.
“If you’re comfortable with either foot, it shouldn’t matter which side you play on. We’ve spoken about how well Sancho is playing at the moment and is looking like someone who can make things happen. The only thing I feel he might still be lacking is unbalancing the full-back to go on the left-hand side to the touchline and whizzing a cross in.
“When you’ve got two players playing who favour the same foot, such as Jadon and Marcus do, then one of them has got to do something different. There has to be a stage where they take on their opponents on the outside.”
“We’ve got really good players in wide positions and I don’t want Luke [Shaw] to stop the overlapping runs because it’s a massive plus in the way that we attack. I also feel we’ve got players who can beat opponents and go inside, but also outside as well.
“Even if, for Sancho, it’s not his favoured foot, he can go outside and doesn’t have to be lightning quick. He’s so good at manoeuvering the full-back and has such good feet that he can only take half a yard and be outside him and then pulling balls into the box, either on the floor or in the air.”
Sancho is looking comfortable on the left hand side and building up a good relationship with England teammate Luke Shaw.
Alex Telles is back in training after Covid, which could result in a change at left-back for the clash with Southampton and of course there is always the possibility of Rashford getting switched back to the left.
But Ralf Rangnick may decide to stick with the burgeoning relationship on the left flank, and Rashford playing on the right can result in more variety in his play without just cutting inside more often than not.
Sancho is capable of beating a man on either side as Thornley said, and it would be great if that resulted in more goals and assists in the games ahead.
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