Jadon Sancho’s quiet persona meant coaches struggled to understand him during his disappointing stint at Manchester United, according to former Red Devils assistant Benni McCarthy.
Sancho joined United for a whopping £73million from Borussia Dortmund in 2021 but never found his feet during a disappointing three-year spell at Old Trafford.
The 24-year-old was banished from the first team last year after his public falling out with Ten Hag before being sent back to Dortmund on loan in January.
Despite being reintegrated into pre-season training this summer, Sancho failed to feature at the start of the season for the Red Devils before securing a deadline-day switch to Chelsea.
Reflecting on the Englishman’s time at Old Trafford, McCarthy, who served as an assistant coach for Ten Hag, said Sancho’s shy personality ultimately led to a breakdown in the relationship between the forward and coaching staff.
‘It was just a bit of communication problems, really, because Sanch is a very quiet guy,’ McCarthy said on the On The Whistle podcast.
‘No one knows literally nothing about Jadon. Jadon comes in, he does his job, he does his work, and then it’s just like, very quiet.
‘[He’s] a great boy, great character, fantastic footballer, unbelievable the things that he can do. For me, it was a real shame that it didn’t work out for Jadon at United, because I thought he was the type of player that that would flourish in a United shirt.
‘But unfortunately, I think lack of communication and understanding, I think was part of the downside that didn’t end up working with Sanch.’
With three assists in his first three games under Enzo Maresca, Sancho is already showing early signs of getting back to his best, and McCarthy is certain that the forward will relish being back in his hometown.
‘He’s closer to home because he did sneak out to come to London quite a lot,’ he said. ‘So probably the fact that he was missing home, and, just wanted to be a bit closer to to family and friends and his culture.
‘The London culture is quite strong, so I think Jadon maybe wanted more of that. So that’s why he kept on. He was in London quite a lot.
‘Now he is closer to home, so hopefully he can find that peace, he can find that bit of magic that that he found when he went to Dortmund, and he gets the love that he deserves from the coaching staff, the players.
‘I think he will turn out to be a special player again. Because I think every single one that knows Sancho that would want him to be at that level, because it’s good for world football.’
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