Gary Neville said Sancho could be like Downey van der Beek, whose €89 million he doesn't seem to fit into United's system. Manchester United beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 on Sunday, Sancho did not play in two consecutive games, and after being humiliated by Liverpool 5-0 last week, Solskjaer switched to a 3-5-2 formation.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Cavani both scored a goal after starting together, and Rashford came off the bench to score, leaving Neville worried about Sancho's role in the team. United spent a fortune signing him from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, but he was in a similar position to Van de Beek. Van de Beek played only a small role in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's plans after his move from Ajax to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020, and Neville fears Sancho will be frustrated by his lack of playing time.
"I can't help but think of Van der Beek," the former Red Devils captain told the media after United's victory. "Who wrote their names on the target list?" Who sponsored United to spend 47 million euros on this kid who hasn't played in the stands for nearly 18 months? If Sancho isn't careful, he'll end up being like Van der Beek, who has been rather bad in the last few weeks, not him, I mean the whole team.
"He came to a club that was completely out of touch with football and the team and the team he played for at Borussia Dortmund was much better. He came here probably thinking, 'What the hell am I here?' What is it? When you look at the defensive run data of The Manchester United striker, the team is unorganized, not structured and the defensive rate is very low. I think he's 5th or 6th among the strikers from the top 4 clubs in the Premier League, so he actually arranged for a rotation. ”
"But he must be sitting on a bench today thinking, 'What am I doing?' and now he's thinking, 'What position should I play in this system?' Because I didn't see him in midfield or in the front, he might be thinking, 'What will my career at Manchester United be?' Van der Beek had the same idea. Today was a good day, but it did create problems for United. ”
Sancho has played 11 games for United so far this season, but only six of them are starters, and the 21-year-old has yet to score a goal or assist and appears to have lost his edge in the attacking area of the front, once one of Dortmund's deadliest young strikers in Europe. Sancho still has plenty of time to change his fate, with the Red Devils hoping to be recalled from the starting line-up by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in a derby with Manchester City next weekend.