Jadon Sancho received some specific instructions from Steve McClaren at the start of Manchester United training on Wednesday morning. "Sancho, referee", bellowed Erik ten Hag's assistant as the players began their rondos at Carrington.
Sancho is becoming accustomed to taking on instructions from Ten Hag and his coaches given the versatility he has been showing since he returned from his three-month lay-off at the start of February. Against Southampton on Sunday he started a game in the No. 10 position, having been used there off the bench.
He's also played on the left wing four times and the right-wing three times in recent weeks, proving his versatility to Ten Hag. That might be a bonus when it comes to getting him in the team but the 22-year-old will also want to nail down a permanent position in this side. Being versatile can be a blessing, but it can also be a curse at times as well.
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Sancho might well feel his best role is off the left, but that is probably the position Marcus Rashford prefers. Rashford is undroppable at the moment, making it difficult for Sancho to force his way into that role regularly.
Unless Bruno Fernandes drops into a deeper midfield role on a more regular basis he might also find the attacking midfield role is somewhere he will only ever be an option rather than a regular. That leaves the right, the role Sancho was signed to fill when he joined from Borussia Dortmund for £73million just under two years ago.
He was never quite able to nail it down last season and Ten Hag made signing Antony a priority this summer. The £85million spent on another 22-year-old is a clear impediment to Sancho's chances on that flank.
But Antony hasn't set the world alight so far and while Sancho was being ribbed by McClaren at Carrington on Wednesday morning, the Brazilian was nowhere to be seen. Ten Hag will give an update on his fitness when United land in Seville later on but he's unlikely to make the travelling squad.
That should at least give Sancho another route into the team for a game where Ten Hag really should be making some changes. United lead 4-1 from the first leg and even accounting for a raucous atmosphere at the Benito Villamarin Stadium, it's hard to see how they can even be made to sweat on Thursday.
Sancho has looked like a bubbly, happy presence around the club since returning from his mid-season break to overcome what Ten Hag described as 'physical and mental' issues. He was laughing and joking again in the early stages of training before the flight to Seville.
But his poor form in the first half of the season and then his absence from the group has clearly set him back in this side. He was watching on when United produced their best football under Ten Hag. His start against the Saints at the weekend was only his fourth since October.
Having him available again and as an option on the bench is clearly a bonus to Ten Hag. He can cover both flanks and the attacking midfield role, allowing for a variety of substitutions, including replacing Wout Weghorst and allowing Rashford to go through the middle.
Sancho will want a bigger role than that, however. The competition for places on the wings is fierce at the moment, but if Antony is absent then Sancho might be about to get another chance to show what he can do on the right.
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