Jadon Sancho’s disappointing start to life at Manchester United should serve as a warning to Erling Haaland this summer.
That’s according to Sky Sport Germany, who use the Englishman’s initial struggles at Old Trafford as an example to the Norwegian star.
Haaland is widely expected to leave Borussia Dortmund next summer when a release clause, believed to be valued at around €90m, comes in effect.
The biggest sides in Europe are all thought to be keen on his signature, including Manchester United, who may want Haaland to link up with his idol Cristiano Ronaldo.
Should a move happen as expected, it would be the latest in a long line of big departures from Dortmund over the last decade, with players such as Ousmane Dembele, Christian Pulisic and Sancho, among others, bringing in hundreds of millions of Euros for the club.
Sancho was the last to leave the club, joining Manchester United in a £76.5m deal this summer after two years of speculation.
It’s a move that hasn’t worked out well so far for the 21-year-old, and Sky cover that today, using it as a warning for Haaland.
They say the Englishman ‘triggers insane hype’ with ‘terrific performances’ at Dortmund, where it quickly became apparent he was a ‘highly talented individual’.
Figures of 50 goals and 64 assists in 137 games led to his move to Manchester United, but he’s been ‘quickly relegated to second place’ at the club so far.
That was largely as a result of Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘sensational return’, which has ended up ‘overshadowing everything’.
Still considered one of the ‘big superstars’ in the Bundesliga, Sancho is now facing criticism in England, particularly from former United stars. As far as they’re concerned, he’s ‘in the role of apprentice again’.
While he’s been backed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the fact is eight games without a goal or an assist for the first time in his career is ‘anything but a dream start’.
That should serve as a warning, with Sancho and former Dortmund youngsters like Dembele all proving that ‘the step is too big’ for them to leave the German side for a top eight side in Europe.
Of course, it doesn’t mean a similar struggle for Haaland, whose proven that barriers simply don’t exist for him on the pitch so far.
But the fact Sancho is being used in this manner shows just how quickly a once ideal transfer can quickly turn sour, as things have for at Manchester United thus far.
