Jadon Sancho is one of the brightest young talents in world football. He has the capability of leading both forward lines for club and country for years to come. But his exclusion from Gareth Southgate’s national side highlights an in-house issue at Old Trafford.
It goes without saying Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under immense pressure and rightly so considering he was at fault for one of United ’s worst defeats in recent history just under two weeks ago. The Norwegian has a lot on his plate already but with Sancho being left out of the England side, it may bring even more scrutiny.
It’s simple. Sancho is simply not getting game time. Of course, it’s going to be more difficult considering the attacking options United have, but when the manager has chased one player for three years before spending over £70m on him it’s hard to understand why he has started more games on the bench than on the pitch this season.
Sancho is someone Solskjaer brought into the first-team set-up at United because he’s clearly seen something in them. There is no doubting his incredible talent which could see him soar to the heights of world football, but the lack of coaching and instruction for these players will only hinder his progress.
Solskjaer was a forward in his impressive footballing career and if there’s anywhere you would’ve guaranteed the former Cardiff City boss would improve, it would be in attack. However it appears, despite having all of the attacking talents a manager could hope for, the United boss is struggling to find a system that suits his players.
Since the moment Solskjaer came into the club, he has waxed lyrical on how the project at United is long-term and the objective is to set the team up for sustained success for years to come. United fans have been fed this idea for almost three years and it’s beginning to wear thin considering Solskjaer has, quite literally, the future of Manchester United spending most of their time on the bench.
There are a few exceptions to this (John Stones and Raheem Sterling being two) but the general rule of thumb is if you’re not playing at club level, it’s virtually impossible for you to break into the national side. As long as Sancho is sat firmly on the bench, his England days are momentarily paused.
Whilst Solskjaer continues to find his best formation and strongest starting eleven, Sancho’s performances will begin to dip, as we’re already seeing. There are only two options for Sancho to re-enter Southgate’s squad- either Solskjaer finds a way to play with a formation and style which suits his best talent, or United get a new manager.
Why do you think Sancho isn't in the England team? Follow our United on my Mind trends writer Anil Kandola on Twitter and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below
