Following reports Tottenham are interested in signing Jadon Sancho from Manchester United, we've priced up Spurs at 4/1 to sign the former Dortmund man.

The Red Devils had been crying out for a top quality right winger for a number of years and appeared to have found one when signing Sancho for around £70m. 

There was no doubting Sancho’s quality when he arrived at Old Trafford, having made an outstanding 78 goal contributions in 92 Bundesliga games, most of which came as a teenager, but it was quickly apparent he’d be deployed on the left wing, where Manchester United already had Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford vying for game time.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was dismissed, with the disastrous Ralf Rangnick era not getting much more out of Sancho.

Fans hoped he might have a new lease of life under Erik ten Hag, but the Dutchman publicly called Sancho out saying he was neither physically nor mentally in the right place to play for him, ostracising him from the first team.

Latest Jadon Sancho next club odds:

Manchester United - 1/3
Tottenham - 4/1
Borussia Dortmund - 8/1

There have been flashes of brilliance from Sancho during his time at Old Trafford – his composed finish to give a flailing United the lead against Liverpool at the start of the season, as well as his game-changing introduction from the bench to come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Leeds, but on the whole he’s looked like a square peg in a round hole. 

United have often played with pace on the counter attack, and it’s an area Sancho’s lacking. He’s no slouch, but he doesn’t have the raw pace of a Rashford to beat a man, and while he’s an excellent dribbler in tight areas, he seems to have lost all faith in his own ability to beat a man; his first full season at Dortmund saw him attempt 6.81 dribbles/90, and that dropped to 4.17 last season. 

Sancho has excellent footballing intelligence, intelligence beyond his 22 years, and may be more suited to a narrower, more central role where he can better use his attributes, but it doesn’t look likely to transpire at Old Trafford.

It’s been two years now and at no point has Sancho come close to replicating his Dortmund form over any period of time, and United officials must be wondering at what point they need to cut their losses.

It won’t be quite as simple as that, of course. Tottenham appear to be the main contenders for his signature, and even if United agreed to sell Sancho for less than they paid, wages must be a big issue.

Sancho isn’t just one of the highest earners at the club, but one of the highest earners in the Premier League, with only Kevin De Bruyne, David de Gea and Erling Haaland thought to be on more than Sancho, and Spurs would require United to pay a substantial portion of Sancho’s wages for the remaining three years of his contract.

Liam Williams

• Manchester United F.C.
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