Jamie Carragher has brutally questioned how much ability Jadon Sancho has after the winger left Manchester United on a season-long loan move to Aston Villa.
Sancho joined Aston Villa on transfer deadline day last week, after being consigned to Manchester United’s ‘bomb squad’ by Ruben Amorim.
The winger endured a miserable time at Old Trafford, having scored just 12 goals in 83 appearances since joining the club from Borussia Dortmund in a £73m deal in 2021.
After a public falling out with former Man United boss Erik ten Hag, Sancho was loaned back to Dortmund in January 2024.
Sancho spent last season on loan at Chelsea, but the Blues opted to pay a £5m penalty fee to send him back to Man United rather than make the deal permanent for £25m.
The decision came despite Sancho scoring in Chelsea’s Conference League final victory, one of five goals he scored in 41 matches.
Jamie Carragher has questioned Jadon Sancho’s overall ability after his Man United exit
Carragher believes Sancho is lacking a standout quality compared to other top wingers
The recent moves have seen Sancho fail to live up to the expectations he set during his first spell at Dortmund, where he scored 50 goals in 137 matches between 2017 to 2021.
Former Liverpool star Carragher, speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet, questioned Sancho’s overall ability and believes they winger lacks a standout quality.
‘It’s funny with Jadon Sancho. Back when he was at Borussia Dortmund, Gary Neville and I were on a show where we had to pick an England squad. We hadn’t seen too much of him – he was doing well in the Champions League, but we left him out,’ Carragher said.
‘Everyone on social media was saying, “How can you not pick Sancho?”
‘I’m still not sure there’s that much ability there. He’s okay, but I don’t really see what his standout quality is.
‘With Marcus Rashford, even though I’ve criticised him, I can picture his pace, his shooting, his free kicks, the power he puts into the ball. With Sancho, I just don’t know what his thing is – I can’t picture it in my head.’
Sancho, whose last of his 23 England caps came back in 2021, will be hoping his loan move to Aston Villa can revive his career.
His former Man United team-mate Marcus Rashford had enjoyed an effective loan spell under Unai Emery’s management last season, before joining Barcelona in the summer.
Sancho joined Aston Villa in a season long loan on deadline day in a bid to revive his career
Paul Scholes suggested Sancho, who played for Chelsea last season, is held back by a lack of pace
Man United legend Paul Scholes, however, raised a concern over Aston Villa’s ‘weird signing’ of Sancho.
Scholes suggested Sancho has been held back by a lack of pace, which he believes could prove an issue for him at Villa Park this season.
‘Emery might be good for him, but he is a weird signing,’ Scholes said.
‘We talked about the size of pitch might be an issue for him, Villa Park is massive. A lack of pace, a lack of legs, it concerns you.
‘He has got ability, but what is his strength? Does he cut inside and smash it in the top corner? Can he beat a man? He possibly links with a centre forward.
‘He probably has the skill to go past someone, but they catch him. He can’t go on again.’
Sancho, who reportedly earned around £250,000 per week, will expect game time at Aston Villa this season with the club involved in the Europa League.
He could be involved in their matchday squad for the first time when Aston Villa face Everton on Saturday in the first match after the international break.
Aston Villa then face Brentford in the Carabao Cup on September 16.
