Sancho at United vs. Haaland at City: proof positive the Manchester sides have swapped places
Stuart Telford
- 8 Oct 2022 10:38 BST
- 4 min read
Jadon Sancho continues to stutter at Manchester United while Erling Haaland has set the heather alight with Manchester City. They starred together at Borussia Dortmund, suggesting their destination clubs have been the problem…
Sancho left City for Dortmund as a bright-eyed teenager in 2017, and quickly made a mockery of his €9.1 million transfer fee, blossoming into one of the most potent wingers in world football.
He scored 50 goals and laid on 64 more in 137 games in all competitions, for a goal-involvement of one every 87 minutes over his four years at the Signal Iduna Park - an incredible return for a wide man.
🎙️ Jadon Sancho & Erling Haaland on their new partnership 🤝 pic.twitter.com/0ON6urxsVz
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) February 1, 2020
Haaland left Red Bull Salzburg for Dortmund as a bright-eyed teenager in 2020, and quickly made a mockery of his €20m transfer fee, blossoming into one of the most potent strikers in world football.
He scored 86 goals and laid on 23 more in 89 games in all competitions, for a goal-involvement of one every 66 minutes over his three years at the Signal Iduna Park - an incredible return for forward.
But while Haaland has hit the ground breaking the land speed record at City, racing to 19 goals from just 12 games and becoming the first player since Lionel Messi to score in nine consecutive matches under Pep Guardiola, Sancho was getting subbed off at half-time after a listless performance against Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League.
"It wasn't [the goal] what I was happy with, it was the movement with our ball," United manager Erik ten Hag explained after replacing Sancho with Marcus Rashford, who ultimately scored twice and assisted another in a 3-2 win.
"The width on the left side, for me, was no good first-half. The movement from behind the defending line. So I hoped with Luke [Shaw] and Marcus, we get more effect from that and so in my opinion that happens."
Sancho's setting the problem
Jason Cundy verbalised what many have been thinking since Sancho's €85m transfer last summer: there's a player in there, and his setting is to blame.
"Man United have to be patient, there’s a lot going on at United," he told talkSPORT. "If you put him in Arsenal right now, who are a side who are completely different to what they were 12 months ago, if you put Sancho in an Arsenal side, I think you'd see a different Sancho.
"He's had a change of manager. It's not been a happy club, they're not playing well, it's a lot to deal with personally."
Compare Ten Hag's dig at Sancho to Pep Guariola's public proclamations about Haaland - even if the Catalan tactician stopped short of describing him as being as good as Messi - and it is night and day.
Admittedly, it is easier to praise your player when he is breaking goalscoring record right, left and centre, but can you imagine Sir Alex Ferguson letting slip to the press that he was disappointed with a nascent young player's performance?
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Jude Bellingham is the next world-beater to mature at Dortmund, the England midfielder now the toast of half of the Premier League as well as Real Madrid, and widely expected to move at the end of the season.
Ten years ago, he might have been better going to United than City, but since Ferguson's retirement, there is little question as to which side of the Manchester derby he would most thrive in.
He simply needs to look at two of his old mates and ask himself which experience he's like to emulate.
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