Erik ten Hag described it as “good” for Manchester United that Jadon Sancho shone in Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League semi-final win over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.
Sancho sparkled in the first leg of the tie at Signal Iduna Park, showcasing the kind of dribbling skills and general creativity that once made him a must-have talent.
The 24-year-old, who endured a very public falling out with Ten Hag in the early weeks of this season, could yet finish the campaign playing in a Champions League final if Dortmund can preserve their aggregate lead when they face PSG again in France next week.
Sancho’s performance on the biggest stage was an unsurprising topic broached when Ten Hag faced the media at Thursday’s pre-match press conference ahead of Monday’s Crystal Palace clash.
“So let’s say this: yesterday he played very good and he’s a very good player,” the boss replied.
“Yesterday he showed why Manchester United bought him and he showed he represents a high value for Manchester United, which is good. I’m happy for Jadon, for the performance yesterday, and we’ll see what is going to happen in the future.”
Having joined former club Dortmund on loan in January, Sancho‘s form until this week hadn’t been particularly noteworthy and fans on social media have already highlighted that his numbers are similar to that of the heavily criticised Antony over a similar period.
However, he was averaging a goal or assist virtually every game during his last season in Germany in 2020/21 and it may be that it has taken some time to recapture that kind of form after spending several months in exile during the first half of this season.
Sancho’s future beyond the end of the current loan remains unclear. There is no preset option to buy for Dortmund to trigger, opening up a wider market should United opt to cash in. 90min reported in January that the original aim of the loan was to push up his value, which will no doubt be helped with this week’s display, and sell permanently, ideally for around £50m, in summer.
Reintegration at Old Trafford isn’t impossible but would require the player to extend a private and public apology to Ten Hag. But if the Dutchman is a casualty of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS further putting their own stamp on the club, Sancho would be more likely to stay.
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