Is Solskjaer to blame for Sancho's poor start at Man Utd?

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:54 CDT
• 6 min read

Jadon Sancho's consistent struggles at Manchester United have undoubtedly been one of the most bizarre stories of the season.

After proving himself as one of Europe's most promising forwards at Borussia Dortmund over a number of years, Sancho arrived at Old Trafford this summer like an uninvited relative and has been treated as such ever since.

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Since making the move to Old Trafford from Dortmund in a deal worth £76.5 million, Sancho has made just five starts for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Where some may have assumed the England international lacked fitness or match sharpness from his performances at Euro 2020, the growing assumption around Man Utd seems to be that Sancho is simply neglected and overlooked by his own manager.

But why would Man Utd spend so much money on an in-form winger only to leave him on the bench from one week to the next? And is there a growing trend among young forwards at the Old Trafford club slowly but surely regressing in form under Solskjaer’s management?

Does Solskjaer know Sancho's best position?

One of the most intriguing things about Solskjaer's misuse of Sancho this season is that he doesn't seem to even know where the young winger would be best suited in his own team.

From 12 fleeting appearances, Sancho has made eight cameos on the left wing, three on the right and even been tasked with playing through the middle in one game.

As if that wasn't strange enough, new reports from England are suggesting that the Norwegian tactician is now toying with the idea of retraining Sancho as a wing-back in his 3-5-2 system.

As such, it's no real surprise that Solskjaer hasn't been able to get the best out of the former Dortmund star.

Solskjaer's record with Man Utd forwards

While the Old Trafford club have slowly but steadily improved under Solskjaer there hasn’t been one, coherent plan for his team’s attack that has stood out during his spell in charge of the club.

Strikers have come and gone, make-shift transfers have stepped in to help out from time to time and young prospects have thrived and waned in seemingly equal measure.

Indeed, when we look at the goalscoring form of four players in particular - Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Daniel James - we can see how their inconsistent form is the only consistent pattern in Solskjaer’s side.

For example, prior to the arrival of the Norwegian manager, Rashford was averaging 0.42 goals per game for Man Utd. That shot up in 2019/20 to 0.53 per game, but has since dipped back to 0.43 for last season.

Similarly, Martial’s average hit an all-time high of 0.52 goals per 90 minutes in 2019/20 but then dropped dramatically to 0.26 last season. And Lingard, who has struggled for game time since Solskjaer’s arrival, has seen his numbers fall steadily since 2017/18.

Even Mason Greenwood, who is considered a bright spark in Man Utd’s attacking line up, saw his own tally fall from 0.54 goals per 90 in 2019/20 down to just 0.32 last season.

Whether the Norwegian tactician is to blame for this is anyone’s guess, but there is certainly not steady improvement across the board from Man Utd’s key attacking players and in many cases the goal scorers in question have struggled to match their impressive returns in the 2019/20 season.

As such, it perhaps shouldn't come as a surprise to see Sancho struggling in Solskjaer’s front line. Inconsistency seems to be a common theme when it comes to attacking players at Man Utd these days.