Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick has discussed Jadon Sancho, his form, and what has happened since his arrival.
The German boss’ reign has seen an upturn in the young Englishman’s performances and fans have been happy with him of late.
According to the club’s official website, Rangnick said: “I disagree. He is now recognisable as the Jadon Sancho I have known since he was 18.
“Yes, this has also not always been the case, if we’re honest, in the weeks and months before I came.
“Jadon Sancho is now getting closer to the Jadon Sancho I’ve known from Germany. In the end it’s all about confidence. Game time, confidence. Confidence, game time. He was performing at a very high level.
“We can only be successful as a team. If you’re not being successful, if you’re not playing well as a team, tell me one single player in football who can still develop his own career. It’s impossible. It’s only possible with raising the level of performance of the whole team. This is what happened [against Spurs].
“With Jadon, as you know when he was 17, I was trying to convince him to join us at Leipzig. Unfortunately he decided to go to Dortmund which was not the worst choice he could make at the time. When I came here [to United] it was clear we had to try everything to help him to get the best version of himself.
“This is what he should be. The club paid quite a few pounds for him in order to lure him away from Borussia Dortmund and if you pay that amount of money in a transfer fee for a player, he should perform on this kind of level.
“At the end, they are all human beings. The mere fact he cost a lot of money does not mean that he is playing at that level to start with.
“He told me that of course it was a problem for him to get adjusted to the intensity of the league, to the physicality of the league. Now he has managed to do that. I’m happy to see him play at that kind of level right now.”
Sancho isn’t the first player to leave the Bundesliga and struggle to adapt to the Premier League as many people would know.
In fact, many players from different leagues fail to initially show their true form when coming to England.
It’s a normal part of the process and only players who are either already physical, or already play at a high intensity, or are simply too talented adapt immediately.
Bruno Fernandes springs to mind but it was obvious his style of play not only suited the league but also suited United themselves who were desperately missing this type of player.
Fans were simply excited to be seeing Sancho in action and didn’t actually feel he was a failure, as many understood he simply needed time.
Fortunately everyone was patient enough and he eventually adapted and is currently playing at a high level.
Sancho actually adjusted to his new surroundings rather quickly considering it usually takes a whole season and he’s managed to do so in less time.