Former Man Utd star warns Sancho could take two or three years to come good
Martin Macdonald
- Updated: 30 Oct 2021 12:44 CDT
- 4 min read
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel believes Jadon Sancho could take around two or three seasons to reach his full potential at Old Trafford, but thinks he has the perfect mentor in Cristiano Ronaldo at the club.
Following a transfer saga that lasted over a year, Man Utd finally secured Sancho's signature after a £73 million deal was agreed with Borussia Dortmund.
Though he has shown glimpses of his quality with a few lovely pieces of skill here and there, the England international has not made an immediate positive impact on the team and is yet to score or record an assist in 10 appearances so far.
When Man Utd were demolished 5-0 by Liverpool last weekend, he didn't even earn minutes off the bench.
Schmeichel has suggested Man Utd fans be patient with him though, and insists the presence of Ronaldo could be key in Sancho's development.
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"You're a young player in that squad, somebody like Jadon Sancho for instance," the Dane said on the Seaman Says podcast.
"It's a big, big, big price tag for him and it feels a bit heavy for him at the moment.
"But he will look at this guy [Ronaldo] and he can say, 'If I do something along those lines, I can be as good as him. I have all the basics, but I can be as good as him.'
"That might take him two, three years to catch on to that but that then gives him maybe ten, 12 years after that.
"This is what Ronaldo gives. I was celebrating when I heard he was returning, running around like crazy in my garden even though I can't run. But I did."
'Ronaldo is like Cantona'
Ronaldo completed a sensational return to Man Utd in the summer after informing Juventus of a desire to leave.
A shock move to Manchester City was on the cards before the Red Devils swooped to bring the Portuguese home.
So far in 2021/22 he has scored five goals in six starts, and Schmeichel believes he could ultimately have a galvanising effect on the squad similar to Eric Cantona when he arrived from Leeds United in 1992.
"He is 36, getting to 37 now, but he looks chiselled and we saw that when he scored that late goal in Europe the other week," Schmeichel said of Ronaldo.
'He is fantastically fit and the reason he is, is because he takes his football so seriously. He eats, sleeps, drinks and trains football, his whole life is about that.
"I remember when Eric came, he infused something different into our dressing room or into the whole character of the club because he was different, he did things in a different way.
"Before you knew it, some of the younger players were starting to do that and they were still developing. The Nevilles, Scholes and Nicky Butt, they looked at Eric and started to do some of his things.
"With [United coach] Eric Harrison they had a great footballing education and they were maybe 97 per cent ready to go out there.
"Those three per cent, the last bit, came from Eric and that made them just a tiny bit different to other players they were up against in their positions. It is the same with Cristiano."
