Was Sancho a bad signing?

[Becks00]

Absolutely not. One of the few best signings we've made in recent years. This was someone even Neymar was complementing as one of the best young players back in 2021, rated him higher than Haland if I remember well and I completely agreed with that assessment back then. Have high hopes for him and I strong believe he would deliver especially with the choice of coach we've gone with.

 

[Leftback99]

He hasn't been a good one so far.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

The fact he's looked a bit crap overall says more about us than it does about him, he was fantastic as Dortmund, and you can guarantee if Liverpool or City had signed him we'd regretting not signing him ourselves right now.

 

[lefty_jakobz]

Happens every time a player is signed by a PL team and struggles in their first season, questions are raised regarding ability, physicality, attitude etc.

If the player is good (which Sancho is) he will become the player he is capable of being.

 

[Plant0x84]

No. With everything that has gone on this season you can’t possibly judge him, especially off the back of moving country/league.

I think we see him back in top form next season and the same will go for DVB too. Patience is key.

 

[Fortitude]

If your looking for Sancho to be an individualistic marvel who is flying solo and taking over games, you’ll never be happy with him.
He needs combination football, there, he will become a legend here as there are very few footballers on the planet who are capable of the kind of football he produces under those conditions.

You never isolate a player like Sancho; he needs bodies and options around him to bounce the ball back and to. Dumping him wide and not supporting him is literally the worst way to use him, and if that was ever the plan, then he’s destined to fail here.

ten Hag will know exactly what to do with him, fortunately. He will thrive in a proper side.

 

[roonster09]

No.

 

[sullydnl]

Too early to say. He walked into a shambles.

 

[RedBanker]

Bad, no. Wrong, yes.

 

[Gator Nate]

I've seen plenty to know he's got lots of upside to come. And it seems to me that he's already started showing things in the last third of the season. It's starting to click for him and I think he'll thrive under ETH. He seems to be showing a broader skill set than anyone else in the squad at that position.

 

[VanDeBank]

Absolutely not. As for no shortage of options: Martial, Lingard and Pogba were on their way out, Bruno is best centrally and Rashford's been struggling for over a year now. The situation with Greenwood has further highlighted our lack of quality depth on the wings. So with the departures this summer, we do need to sign another winger and Sancho should suit Ten Hag's tactics.

They weren't, with the exception of Pogba who was likely to run his contract down.

The 3 players you've mentioned weren't begging to leave like they would go on to do after Ole's implosion:

• Jlingz had some very lively appearances early on in the season. People were begging for him to get more game time than just 5 minutes at the end of matches.
• We all remember Pogba's assist hatrick against Leeds. He was our man on the left at the start of the season.
• Martial scored a goal in the only game he started and he looked quite bright in the few minutes he got earlier on in the season.

Not getting game time and the toxic dressing room was what made Lingard and Martial want to leave. They were not on their way out when we signed Sancho.

I don't think it's such a sure thing Bruno is best centrally. Last night is one example, but he's also the type of creative player, like Ziyech that ETH might want to shift out on the wing (or a false 9 option like Tadic), unless he coaches him to play differently than he has for most of his career. ETH so far has favoured Muller types (like Donny and Klaassen) on the 10 position.

 

[Irwin99]

No, way too early to tell and I think he'll be a really good player in a more technical side. Also think he'll work better with improved fitness.

Have to say though, he's escaped quite a bit of media scrutiny by being in such a poor side. I mean that was a lot of money and a hell of a reputation and his goals and assists numbers have been quite poor.

 

[Hansi Fick]

The answer is no, for fecks sake. Sancho is an amazing signing. Just give it some fecking time, Jesus.

 

[AltiUn]

Always fair to give new signings a season, see how he’s getting on next year.

 

[Dante]

For real?

For United.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Where he’s not been at his Dortmund level he has shown glimpses of what he could do but it would be hard for anyone to really shine in this team. Diaz for example I doubt would have had the impact at United that he has had at Pool.

Hopefully next season will be Sancho year but I reckon it’s going o take another full season for ETH to sort the team out before we really start seeing the best of anyone.

So in short, not amazed by his performances currently but not really shocked he ain’t getting like 16 assists and scoring goals for fun.

 

[RoadTrip]

No. He was a good signing put into a team which didn’t really know how to get the best out of him; out of anyone in the team really. Players need structure and strategy and tactics to thrive. It’s simple if you consider that no one on our team really outperforms expectations, certainly after being here for a while. Everyone kinda regresses. Point being, I say no, but I kinda want to say “TBC” - because I don’t think we can properly conclude on any player right now.

 

[Cerberus]

No. Considering how bad Rashford has become this season, having Sancho's creativity on the left is extremely useful.

 

[Sarni]

Too early to tell as the team has been very poor since he joined and he hasn’t had a chance to play in a functioning team but this doesn’t change the fact that he’s been part of that and has been really underwhelming so far.

 

[hobbers]

In the circumstances yes, obviously it was a bad signing.

Ole signed him because he was young and English and hyped but had no idea where he was going to play or if he fitted into whatever system Ole pretended to have. In the end it turns out he's a left winger/inside left forward just like everyone else in the squad.

Hopefully he'll suit being played in his best position week in week out in a more aggressive, high pressing system where he's getting the ball higher up the pitch, like he was at Dortmund. Then next season we can say he was a great signing, but anyone saying that now is going on faith.

 

[jesperjaap]

Too early to say.

A better question is - has it been a disappointing first season from him?

To which the answer would be yes... but I'd say it would have been very diffiult for him to have had a good season in this team.

Completely agree. He has shown flashes of hiq quality. But I remember 2/3months ago people saying on here he has now arrived and hwo dare you doubt him, was nowhere near the player he can be.

I agree with others he is a team player rather than individual brilliance, but his quality and ability is undoubted....but there are a few we can say that about here the last decade that have flopped or been dissapointing overall.

People saying we needed a right winger he is more comfortable n the left....well udner Ten Hag and his incered wingers, could be a blessing.

There is no certainty he will succeed here, just as no certainty others we could have signed instead would. Next season is a hug eone for him though, beign in a poor team, settling in etc etc only lasts so long when you have come for such a massive fee and I would agree with an earlier poster here, there are a plethora of talented left wingers in Europe at the moment, so there is pressure on him

 

[duffer]

Jury still out for me.

 

[TwoSheds]

He's good but I'm not sure he's a United player. Hope I'm wrong though needless to say.

 

[Ish]

Nah he’ll come good. Underwhelming first season but the teams been a shambles from the get go. Way too early to call him a bad signing.

 

[Red00012]

Criticise the post not the poster is debatable here

 

[madzo2007]

No, when he came he had an ear infection or some sort of injury I remember reading which meant he couldn't train properly. It was also a weird preseason due to covid again.

Then he came into a team which was starting to crack under Ole then fell apart

 

[VanDeBank]

The answer is no, for fecks sake. Sancho is an amazing signing. Just give it some fecking time, Jesus.

When's the last time Bayern have spent 80 million on one player on a massive contract? And would you not expect more from a signing of that magnitude in his first season if he were at your club? I get that you rate him (so do I), but it's not like we desperately needed a LW and there weren't cheaper quality options. Those 2 Colombians in the OP (Diaz and Sinisterra) are brilliant as well, as is Cody Gakpo.

 

[Greck]

No, he's about to shine in the Antony role. Will be our most important player as early as next. He's already the most intelligent attacker in the first team after Ronaldo. He's the one who actually shows the tools and this isnt just some crapshoot hope about shining under ETH.

 

[marktan]

Yes, for us anyway. He deserves leeway because he's young, but I was against signing him for £75m (let alone £100m) because after watching him a lot for Dortmund there are deficiencies in his game.

For £40m it's a good deal for a promising talent, but for £75m you expect something a lot more finished. I hope he improves and I think he'll be a good player for us, but he's not suddenly going to gain a yard of pace.

I've been adamant that he's not really that much better than the likes of Lookman, you get pelters on this forum for suggesting he may not be worth what he was, but we've seen this season what his game is. I don't particularly expect much more next season, and after two seasons I think the jury will change on him. It's just another in a long list of players like AWB of us overpaying for good but not great young players.

 

[Rightnr]

No

 

[DevTheRed]

In a struggling team where only Ronaldo and De Gea have performed at a decent level I think he’s done just about okay.

I think we’ll see next season why we signed him, very excited to see him in a proper system.

 

[VanHaal'sRedArmy]

Too early to tell. Not to make a direct comparison but Son had a forgettable first season at Spurs and look at how he turned out.

 

[jeff_goldblum]

Way too early to tell. If he can gets back to his Dortmund form the fee will look like a bargain.

 

[Skills]

Potentially.

It's another signing we've made without realising what we were really getting. However, he's quite obviously a good player and now that we've spent 80m on him the onus is on the club to actually get the best out of him.

 

[Skills]

Way too early to tell. If he can gets back to his Dortmund form the fee will look like a bargain.

Will it really when 40m can get you a Luis Diaz?

 

[Art]

At 350k a week it is an awful contract.

 

[VanDeBank]

Too early to tell. Not to make a direct comparison but Son had a forgettable first season at Spurs and look at how he turned out.

He was a bit older (by 2 years?) when he signed for 30 million euros.

No, he's about to shine in the Antony role. Will be our most important player as early as next. He's already the most intelligent attacker in the first team after Ronaldo. He's the one who actually shows the tools and this isnt just some crapshoot hope about shining under ETH.

Antony from Ajax, who is left footed and has 8 goals in the Eredivsie?

 

[dubplate warrior]

He is going to have a great season under Ten Hag in my opinion, its the perfect kind of system for Sancho's skillset.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

The logic that player x is a bad signing because another club signed a player who plays the same position and is having a better season (as part of an infinitely more functional team) is obviously terrible.

Stick Sancho in that Liverpool team and this thread would never have seen the light of day.

 

[Rolaholic]

Will it really when 40m can get you a Luis Diaz?

It was 45m and potentially 60m with add-ons.

Drop Sancho in Jurgen Klopp's side and he'd be doing bits too, can't say the same for Diaz in our current team...

I'll wait to see things shape up under Ten Hag, think he's one of the main players I expect to get a massive boost from the incoming change of manager and philosophy.

He's been our brightest outfield player not named Ronaldo or Fred under Ralf and I fully expect him to kick on and play a big part once we have an organized, attack oriented side again.