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Manchester United’s January transfer window mostly consisted of moving players on either temporarily or on a permanent basis and the most high-profile exit was that of Jadon Sancho.
The England international was suspended after he refused to apologise to manager Erik ten Hag for calling him out on social media while even his camp insinuated the manager handed out preferential treatment to a certain recruit of his.
The Red Devils sent the attacker back to Borussia Dortmund where he started brightly, picking up an assist in each of his first two appearances for the Bundesliga outfit.
Since then, however, his form has taken a dramatic nosedive with German legends criticising his performance while the German media have also laid into him.
Terzic’s thoughts
The team from Signal Iduna Park are currently fourth and in danger of failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League and manager Edin Terzic was asked about the lack of impact the United winger’s arrival has had on the team.
And according to the German coach, he anticipated Sancho’s drop in form due to his lack of match fitness upon arrival. The Englishman had been exiled for the major part of the first half of the season at Old Trafford.
“We know that not everyone is at 100%. Jadon hasn’t played for a long time, and he lacks rhythm,” Terzic was quoted as saying by Fussball Transfers.
“It’s often the case that the guys who come back after a long downtime or a long break, they immediately light up at the beginning, when everything is new and fun again. And then every now and then there’s a dip.”
The former Manchester City academy graduate is said to prefer playing just behind the striker while the manager’s only available position is out wide. And that is not helping either.
“(He) said very confidently that his favourite position is at 10. We know that he can be used very flexibly, but Julian Brandt and Marco Reus did really well as the number 10.”
Sancho’s uncertain future
His current form is not enough to warrant major expenditure is Dortmund’s current thinking and they are banking on Sancho to pressurise the English giants into possibly reducing the fee.
An alternative arrangement could see the player return on loan next season as well in a deal which could include an option to buy but the 20-time English league champions have no intention of agreeing to such a deal.
The 23-year-old is open to returning to Manchester should Ten Hag no longer be at the helm and there is a good chance of that panning out judging from the results.
A few more twists and turns are expected regarding Sancho’s future between now and the end of the season. It will be interesting to see which team he represents next season.
