Jadon Sancho has been urged by a Premier League legend to improve his attitude so he does not waste the latest opportunity to kickstart his career at Aston Villa. Sancho is into the third loan spell of his disastrous time at Manchester United but he has struggled to get into Unai Emery's side, playing just 52 minutes in the Premier League so far.
Getty Images SportSubstitution deepens Sancho woes
Sancho joined Villa on deadline day on loan after no club wanted to sign him permanently following a disappointing spell at Chelsea last season. He has only started two games for the Villans, in the Carabao Cup and Europa League, as he struggles to regain full fitness after being a part of United's 'bomb squad' over the summer along with Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Antony and Tyrell Malacia.
Sancho made just his second Premier League appearance on Sunday against Manchester City when he replaced the injured Emi Buendia in the 29th minute. But he was then taken off in the second half as Villa looked to protect their 1-0 advantage. Emery insisted that he had always planned to take Sancho off as he is not yet fully fit although the image of him coming off the pitch only 45 minutes after being brought on added to the sense that he has a long way to go to get back to the player he once was. And Premier League all-time top scorer Alan Shearer believes Sancho must change his attitude if he is to make the loan move a success.
AdvertisementShearer: Sancho will only get so many opportunities
Shearer told : "I don't know what's going on with Jadon Sancho in terms of his training or his life, but he's got an opportunity at Villa now, and if it doesn't work out here, people will look back and say, 'Hang on, you've been given so many opportunities.' You can only have so many.
"I guess it is humiliating when you're put on as a sub and then taken off again. It hasn't worked out yet for him, but there's only one way around it and that is hard work. Get your head down, get your attitude right, and if you do that, things will turn around."
Former coach believes Sancho can follow Dembele's footsteps
Sancho's career has been in freefall ever since he moved to United for £74m in 2021 on the back of three sensational seasons with Borussia Dortmund. He failed to replicate his form in Germany for the Red Devils and early into his third season he fell out with coach Erik ten Hag, blasting back at the Dutchman after he had been accused of not showing enough effort in training. Sancho was cast out from the squad for four months, eventually returning to Dortmund on loan. He thrived back at his former club, helping them reach the Champions League final.
And his former coach Edin Terzic has sensationally claimed that the winger could one day win the Ballon d'Or and follow the same redemption path as Ousmane Dembele. The French winger bombed at Barcelona after joining the Catalans from Dortmund for a total fee of £135m in 2017 but has turned his career around at Paris Saint-Germain. He won the 2025 Ballon d'Or for his role in PSG winning the Champions League for the first time to complete the treble.
Terzic told : "All those players can win the Ballon d’Or in the future. Even Jadon. From the talent point of view, if you talk about Jadon, then maybe five years ago you would talk about Ousmane Dembele in the same way."
Getty Images SportSancho continues road to full fitness
Sancho will be looking to get sharper and fitter by playing at least some role in Villa's next three matches before the November international break. He might struggle to get in the starting line-up in Saturday's game at Liverpool although he will be expecting to start in the Europa League game at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday. Villa will then host the in-form Bournemouth before the two-week break for international fixtures, although Sancho will remain with his club as he has no prospect of returning to the England squad any time soon.
