You’ll see the best of Sancho in time, Gareth tells United
GARETH SOUTHGATE has urged patience with Jadon Sancho as the England winger continues to find his feet at Manchester United.
Sancho moved to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund during a summer which also saw him racially abused after missing a penalty in England’s shoot-out loss to Italy in the final of Euro 2020.
The 21-year-old has struggled to make an impact since joining United, with Three Lions boss Southgate admitting his form this season was not worthy of an international call-up.
But he included Sancho in his squad to show ‘belief’ in the forward, who then started Saturday’s 5-0 World Cup qualifying win over Andorra.
Sancho provided two assists and Southgate said: ‘It was not easy for a winger in the game because quite often you are receiving the ball with two, sometimes three defenders really close.
‘So you’ve got to pick the right moment to set the ball off and the right moments to back yourself to maybe take one or two of those players out, and I thought he did that exceptionally well a couple of times. It is important he got the assists because you’ve also got to have that productivity and the right pass or the right cross at the end of those passages of play.’
On Sancho’s £73million transfer, Southgate added: ‘We shouldn’t be surprised that for a young player to have such a big change in his life, new league, new club, different style of play, different training regime, back living in Manchester, moving house and everything that’s involved in that, that’s a lot to take in.
‘So it’s going to need time but he showed a lot of the qualities that he has and I know that will come with the club as well.’ Victory made it 28 World Cup qualifiers unbeaten and Southgate was pleased with how his men went about their business.
‘I think these games historically for England teams have been difficult nights,’ he said.
‘What I like about this group is whatever the challenge, whatever the environment they’re put into, they don’t make any excuses.
‘We showed good discipline because one of the ways the opponent has a chance is if they get you down to ten men and there were plenty of flashpoints where we could have reacted in the wrong way.’