Ten Hag to bring a case for defence for struggling Sancho
UNITED have spent £119m on three right wingers across the last two summer transfer windows.
This year, they are looking for another as Erik ten Hag seeks to finally bring balance to an attack which has long lacked a right-sided specialist.
Jadon Sancho was hailed as somewhat of a bargain when he arrived for £73m last summer, with his sizeable fee juxtaposed with the £108m which Borussia Dortmund had demanded a year earlier.
United had, in effect, saved themselves £35m by holding their own in the market and had been rewarded for their patience, but 12 months on and Sancho’s signing doesn’t look like quite the steal it once did.
Having missed out on Sancho in the 2020 window, United acted quickly to lure both Amad and Facundo Pellistri to the club in the hope they would solve their right wing issue.
Club sources insisted that both had been long-term targets and efforts were amplified to sign them when it became abundantly clear a deal for Sancho would not materialise. They represent another £46m of investment which is yet to bear fruit.
After such hefty spending in one area of the pitch, it would be difficult to endorse the move for another right winger this summer.
Instead, the club would be well within their right to instruct the new manager to get the best out of those already at his disposal.
So a key task for Ten Hag next season will be to get the best out of Sancho – even more so, it will be to make him an effective Premier League right winger.
Despite being signed to address the problem position, Sancho actually made 27 of his 38 appearances last season on the left
wing. He looked at his best when he was able to cut inside, beat defenders, and utilise wider angles to curve efforts towards goal.
Playing on the right wing, Sancho will have far fewer opportunities to do that and instead will need to move to inside channels to make a telling impact.
While it might not be his preferred way of playing, it is crucial that Ten Hag manages to improve him in such a role next season – and integral to that will be who he selects at right-back.
Part of the reason United have struggled on the right so often has been as much about the lack of support from full-back.
Ten Hag has already informed Aaron Wan-Bissaka he won’t be part of his plans next season. Diogo Dalot has been told he still has a future at Old Trafford – which signals the Dutchman’s intent to offer more of an attacking threat from full-back.
It’s clear that if United want to dominate more matches next season, then they will need to modernise the manner in which they utilise their wide defenders.
Sancho might be all right after all.