Jadon Sancho risks being overlooked for a starting spot in the Manchester United first team on a long-term basis like Donny van de Beek, according to Gary Neville.
Sancho has been struggling to adapt to life at the Old Trafford club after having signed for the Red Devils from Borussia Dortmund in the summer transfer window.
Manchester United had been linked with a move to sign the 21-year-old for more than a year but the England international has only started three of the Red Devils’ 10 games in the Premier League this season.
Sancho is yet to score or register an assist for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men and it remains to be seen whether he will be able to force his way into the starting line-up on a regular basis at Old Trafford.
He was a late substitute in the 2-2 draw away to Atalanta on Tuesday night and he was left on the bench for Manchester United’s most recent Premier League games against Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur.
Former Manchester United full-back Neville fears that Sancho could be heading the same way as Van de Beek, who has only played five minutes of Premier League football this season.
“I can’t help thinking about Van de Beek,” Neville told Sky Sports. “Who’s put their name on him? Who’s sponsoring that £40m that’s been spent on that kid who’s sat in the stands and not kicked a football now for 18 months? Sancho, if he’s not careful, is going to end up exactly the same.
“Sancho has played in some pretty appalling team performances. He’s come into a club that’s looked completely disjointed in terms of their football. He played in a far better team unit at Dortmund. He’s come in here thinking, ‘what the hell am I in here, what is this?’ There’s no organisation, there’s no structure, the defensive work rate is poor.
“When you look at the defensive running stats, of Manchester United’s front players who are anywhere near, Sancho is actually the only player who has put a shift in. But he must be sat on the bench thinking, ‘what am I doing?’
“Now he’s thinking, ‘where do I play in that system?’. I don’t see him playing in a three in midfield. I don’t see him in a two up front. He’ll be thinking, ‘where’s my career at Man Utd?’ and Van de Beek is thinking the same. Saturday was a good day for United but it does cause problems elsewhere.”
Meanwhile, former Manchester United star Paul Scholes was critical of Paul Pogba for his performance in the Red Devils’ 2-2 draw at Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
“He’s a really experienced player,” Scholes said of Pogba on BT Sport. “But he’s one of them that will get to 35 and be exactly the same.
“He’ll still be doing the stupid stuff where he’s stud rolling the ball, holding people off showing how strong and skilful he is.
“The biggest thing with Paul is his concentration. He goes away with the fairies at times.
“You think of the Juventus team he played in, where he was brilliant and was why we signed him. The experience around him – [Andrea] Pirlo, [Giorgi] Chiellini, [Leonardo] Bonucci, [Gianluigi] Buffon, an aggressive manager… He will need that treatment until he’s 35.”
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