The winger was an unused substitute against Everton (Pictures: Getty / FIVE / YouTube)
Rio Ferdinand admits he is becoming ‘concerned’ by Jadon Sancho’s inability to replicate his Bundesliga form for Manchester United after he was dropped by Erik ten Hag.
The 22-year-old had started each of United’s previous seven Premier League matches – netting twice but providing zero assists – but was dropped from the starting XI for Sunday’s trip to Goodison Park to face Everton.
Sancho did not even come off the bench in the 2-1 victory and in his absence Antony netted for the third straight league game while Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford both looked lively when picking up the ball on the left.
Ferdinand can’t quite put his finger on why Sancho has not lived up to his £72million price tag but believes he needs to get back to basics and work on improving his goals and assists tally even if it means putting the tricks and skills to one side.
Speaking on his Vibe with FIVE YouTube show, Ferdinand said: ‘I haven’t seen [his Bundesliga form] yet. That’s the concerning thing for me.
‘If I’m Jadon Sancho, or in Jadon Sancho’s camp, I am looking at ways in which I can unpick his game, his mind, to unearth the Sancho that made him a coveted talent around Europe.
‘His numbers in Germany were great, he was doing marvellous things over there, but it hasn’t transferred over to the Premier League yet.
‘And I don’t know why. What is the reason why? Is it because of the way the team set up? Is it because of the pace of the Premier League?
Sancho was an unused substitute against Everton (Picture: Getty)
‘Is he getting asked to do more defensively so then he hasn’t got the energy when they’ve got [the ball] in transition?
‘His assists and goal record isn’t great when you compare it to other players in his position.
‘So you allow him that time to adapt to this league – he’s had a season of that – and after pre-season I was thinking, “Okay, yeah, this looks like we’ve got the Sancho we’ve bought from Dortmund”.’
He continued: ‘I think he’s shown this season he can score goals, he scored against Liverpool and Leicester.
‘Sometimes when you’re looking for a bit of form and you’re not playing – he’s worked hard, don’t get me wrong – but a player like Jadon wants to get on the ball, wants to showboat, show his skills, drop people, Instagram little reels.
‘He hasn’t really got a reel yet in terms of skills and moving people and stuff and going by people. But if he could get his stats up a bit, it almost negates the argument that we’re talking about here.
‘If he gets the goals and gets the assists and affects the game in that area, and if he can get himself between the posts more often then not, when he’s in there he’s shown already he’s a calm finisher. He’s a cool, calm and collected finisher.
‘But I just want to see the Sancho that I was going crazy about and demanding that he come on during the Euros, because I haven’t seen that.’
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The winger was an unused substitute against Everton on Sunday.