“I never managed to really play with him properly,” says ex-United manager
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said that Jadon Sancho was “unlucky” at Manchester United, having been beset by problems that affected him right from his early weeks at the club.
Sancho arrived from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2021 as one of Europe’s brightest attacking talents. United had pursued him for over a year, and Solskjaer saw him as a player who could take his project at the club to the next level.
But the former United manager has explained that Sancho’s troubles started before he had even trained properly with his new teammates.
“We wanted to take the next step, to add something different in the final third,” Solskjaer said on The Overlap. “Jadon, with his skill, link-up play, and little passes around the box, gave us that.
“He was unlucky though. Before he joined, he went on holiday, as you do, and he got this ear infection. He was in the hospital, and really struggled for his first 10 days or so before he could even start training with us. That has not come out but he struggled.”
The disrupted start meant Sancho was playing catch-up from the outset and Solskjaer barely worked with the winger.
“I never managed to really play with him properly,” Solskjaer said. “By the time he was finding form again, I was already on my way out.”
Solskjaer was dismissed in November 2021 following a poor run of form. It meant that Sancho was left without the coach who had pushed for his arrival in the first place.
The player ultimately fell out with Erik ten Hag and left the club on loan. He has since struggled to establish himself at any club after loan spells at Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and currently Aston Villa.
