Jadon Sancho has lit things up for Borussia Dortmund but ‘lacks pace’ and may never succeed at Manchester United, talkSPORT says

Jadon Sancho’s debut at Manchester United has been far from promising and he has been told he may never succeed in the Premier League.

The former Man City academy player has struggled to light up Old Trafford since his £73m move from Borussia Dortmund.

Anticipation was extremely high from Man United, who had been chasing the 21-year-old for several seasons before completing the deal in the 2021 summer transfer window.

Considering he’s young and has time ahead of him, Sancho could still prove to be a success for the Red Devils.

That said, speaking to talkSPORT hosts Jim White and Simon Jordan, former Manchester City winger Trevor Sinclair isn’t sure Sancho will win in the Premier League.

“For Manchester United I’m not sure, if Manchester United want to fight for the title I’m not so sure,” Sinclair said when asked if Sancho would succeed for the club.

“I just look at raw materials. As a winger, if you don’t have the rhythm, I’m not sure you can succeed in the Premier League.

“One or two players did it (succeed without having a lot of rhythm). David Beckham and David Bentley, he did for a while when he was at Blackburn [Rovers].

“But I can’t see him having that kind of delivery (which Beckham and Bentley had), I can’t see him succeeding”.

Sinclair again alluded to the lack of pace as the main factor behind Sancho’s problems at Man United and added that his success at Dortmund is second to none due to Premier League tenacity and physicality.

“When you hear a player who scored 50 goals at Newcastle go to Manchester United and say he almost failed because of the waiting and the pressure, it will start to make you realize how difficult it is to do it at a club like Manchester United,” Sinclair added.

“Now any pros listening to this will understand; there are great coaches, eight-man games, who can influence the game, but it’s not the players who are always able to go and do it on an 11-man pitch.

“On the big field, you have to have it all. Now, if you don’t have the fitness levels, if you don’t have the intensity to change pace, if you don’t have the confidence, if you don’t have the first touch, if you don’t don’t have the full package in the Premier League, you won’t succeed.

“Now I don’t think Jadon Sancho has a lot of pace, he looked good when he was playing for Dortmund, but it’s a different league, I don’t think he has enough pace as a wingman.”

German football expert Kevin Hatchard has revealed he was surprised to see Sancho struggling given his form in the Bundesliga.

“I’m surprised how long it took and I’m surprised he wasn’t able to bring his talent into the games,” Hatchard told talkSPORT.

“What we’ve seen time and time again, certainly in Germany, is the guy who not only plays well on a regular basis, but rises to the big occasions.

“If I think about the game at the end of last season which is the cup final, against RB Leipzig, so against a very good team. He wiped the floor with Leipzig, a very good team from Leipzig.

“He was the catalyst for their victory and I’ve seen him play like that time and time again, I think there was a bit of a surprise in Germany as to how it went.

“Admittedly, in Dortmund there has been a bit of sadness to see how things have gone so far.

“But what you shouldn’t get carried away with is really the time scale, because we’re talking about a few months at a football club that’s not working at the moment.

“They had a change of manager, they could well have another at the end of this season, so it’s a changing club, a lot of players who are not happy, I would say a lot of players who play well below their abilities.

“I think it’s a really difficult situation for him.

“But I can’t be a complete apologist for him. He hasn’t reached the level he is capable of, so hopefully he will improve over time.