As Ole Gunnar Solskjaer drove out of Manchester United's Carrington training base for the final time, thoughts about which players could benefit from his exit began to flood supporters' heads.
Immediately, names such as Donny van de Beek, Jesse Lingard and Jadon Sancho came to mind. All three of them had struggled for opportunities since the start of the season and the supporters were desperate to see more of them — especially big-money summer signing Sancho.
He had, at long last, completed a move to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund, several years after United had initially shown interest in the former Man City academy star.
He was expected to be an instant hit in the red of United and replicate the form that he had shown in Germany.
Patience, of course, had to be shown. There are, after all, huge differences between the Bundesliga and the Premier League, but it's fair to say many expected Sancho to hit the ground running pretty soon after signing.
However, he struggled for regular opportunities under Solskjaer, often being restricted to cameo appearances off the substitutes bench in dribs and drabs.
Under caretaker boss Michael Carrick, who oversaw first-team duties for three games between Solskjaer's exit and Ralf Rangnick's first game at the helm, Sancho was immediately given a more prominent role. He started out on the right wing against Villarreal, Chelsea and Arsenal. He scored his first United goal against Villarreal and then scored again five days later at Stamford Bridge.
Carrick had succeeded where Solskjaer had failed. Sancho was playing out wide on the right and scoring goals. It was the combination that United's supporters and of course Sancho himself had been dreaming of.
Finally, after a frustrating start to life at Old Trafford, the 21-year-old was beginning to blossom. It appeared that his time to shine had arrived.
Step forward Rangnick, a coach that has been drafted in to improve United's results — something he has so far done with two Premier League wins from his first two games — and improve their style of play, in a bid to give the club a recognisable identity once again.
Give United a new identity he certainly has, and in less than a week.
His first two league games in charge have seen Sancho deployed on the right of the two advanced, attacking-midfielders in United's new-look 4-2-2-2 system. The formation has enabled United to be more compact in the centre of the pitch, making it harder for opponents to cut through them, but it has left them starved of creativity in the wide areas. Full-backs Diogo Dalot and Alex Telles are asked to provide the majority of the width.
However, if Dalot and Telles commit themselves forward, they are, obviously, going to leave spaces for opponents to exploit. But Rangnick will be fully aware of that, with full knowledge of the pros and cons that come with this new system.
Nevertheless, while the German's primary aim, so far, has been to make United more assured defensively, he cannot run the risk of leaving his team hampered going forward. They looked disjointed in attack against Norwich.
Sancho, tucked inside on the right, moved the ball inside the pitch five times in the 10 minutes that proceeded his withdrawal against Norwich — as opposed to running down the wing and looking to drive at a defender.
Sancho is renowned for using his pace and athleticism to drive at the opposition and put defenders on the back-foot. He wants to burst down the flanks, look up and provide crosses for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo to attack. That is his game and he proved it during Carrick's short-term spell in charge.
With almost 40 years worth of coaching experience under his belt, it is hard to question or criticise Rangnick, especially when he has guided United to two wins from his first two Premier League games in charge without conceding a goal. But he has got to find a solution to bring more out of United's attacking contingent, and that doesn't just mean Sancho.
The 4-2-2-2 system has the potential to work, but it does not, seemingly, feel like the right fit for somebody of Sancho's characteristics. He needs to be playing out wide, almost hugging the touchline to be at his fluent best.
Considering United, on paper, now have a favourable looking set of fixtures on the horizon, this could be the ideal time for Rangnick to experiment and tinker with his tactics, before rubbing shoulders with the big boys again. It could be interesting to see United revert back to a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 system, or at least a formation that can accommodate natural wingers that can play their own game and supply the goods from their natural position.
Sancho is still young and has lots more to learn. But as he proved at Dortmund, playing to his strengths will reap rewards. Rangnick is right to adopt his own approach and think about the bigger picture at United, but a shift in tact could bring about the best in Sancho.
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