Did Manchester United Dodge A Bullet In Jadon Sancho?

Manchester United spent the vast majority of the last summer in an uncharacteristic window-shopping exercise, and this was largely due to a proposed move to bring young English sensation, Jadon Sancho, to Old Trafford.

United fans had been ecstatic when it was rumoured in the media that a stunning move could be on the cards.

The former Manchester City startlet had been in devastating form, scoring 16 goals and laying 17 more for his teammates in an impressive run that saw the club settle for 2nd best in the league.

Despite coming up short on the trophy front, Manchester United have shown that Old Trafford’s coffers is by no means nowhere near empty, as evidenced by some mega money deals in recent years, most of which have failed to restore the club’s dwindling fortune.

With the attacking trio of Martial, Rashford and Greenwood turning up decent numbers last season, United had hoped to bring the highly rated winger back to Manchester in a bid to boost squad depth as they looked to insert themselves into the two horse race driven by Manchester City and Liverpool in recent years.

Sancho’s proposed move to Manchester United had looked like done deal, with some media outlets even announcing that a sensational deal has been struck.

In reality, Dortmund had been stubborn in negotiations as they had failed to see eye to eye with United over the price-tag; despite revised offers from the English club, Dortmund Chief Executive, Hans-Joachim Watzke told United to walk away from the deal if they could not afford the $120m price tag.

The breakdown of negotiations had come with a biting frustration for Manchester United fans, who perceived this as another one of Ed Woodward’s inability to re-launch the sleeping giants back to global reckoning.

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The sensational Englishman had been chased by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side all summer long and in the end no signatures were secured.

In a desperate last gasp move to shore up an attack which had loanee, Odion Ighalo as its only back up, Manchester United signed free agent, Edinson Cavani whose services was no longer required at the Parc De Princes, and the new season began.

This season, after 11 outings, Sancho is yet to get off the mark in the Bundesliga, a situation which has caused much worry at the Signa Iduna Park. Sancho’s poor form has tragically dovetailed into Dortmund’s poor display this season, which has necessitated the sack of former manager, Lucien Favre. But not even the old gaffer’s dismissal has seemed to have any effect on Sancho’s form or the club’s, as Dortmund again were put to the sword by Bundesliga minnows, Union Berlin in what was another no show from the Englishman.

Up steps an unlikely hero, Ed Woodward. The key man at Manchester United had come into serious criticism over the breakdown in the Jadon Sancho deal, amongst other perceived decisional flaws which greatly affected the club’s ability to compete at the highest level since the departure of Scottish great, Sir Alex Ferguson.

But this time it is Woodward who stands tall, not necessarily for his other perceived failures, but for seeing the bullet no one had seen coming. Woodward may not have predicted the dip in Sancho’s form, but definitely trusted his instincts not to over-pay for a player who is yet to stamp a consistent print on European football.

Sancho, in his response has admitted that this season has been hard for him after an elongated transfer saga involving Manchester United during the summer transfer window; but then, this admission may only excuse the downward plunge of his form for so long.

This is not to say that it is a foregone conclusion that Jadon Sancho’s impressive outing last term was a flash in the pan which is unlikely to repeat itself, as even the greatest footballers have suffered similar dips in the past. But, however one chooses to parse this, there is a glowing indication that the former Watford man is yet to justify the hefty price tag placed by his Chief Executive only a few months ago.