Jadon Sancho Lifts The Lid On His Move To Man United

Jadon Sancho has vowed to bring flair and a winning mentality to Manchester United – and believes he has already forged a connection with team-mate Bruno Fernandes after sealing his long-awaited move to Old Trafford. 

The England winger cost United £73million after finally snaring him from Dortmund following negotiations that were dragged out over the course of a year, and now the player says he is ‘buzzing’ to pull on the shirt and add some firepower to the team. 

The 21-year-old has only just started training with his new side after feauring for England at Euro 2020 on their route to the final, but has declared himself ready to go for the new campaign despite his lack of preparation. 

He spoke with United legend Rio Ferdinand ahead of the club’s season opener against Leeds United at Old Trafford on Saturday in the next instalment of ‘Rio Meets’ for BT Sport, telling him he was relieved to finally get his move.

‘It feels nice, definitely [to be a United player], I’ve been waiting a long time for this move I’m just glad it’s over now and I can get ready to start the season against Leeds. I’m buzzing.’  

When asked by Ferdinand what United fans can expect of him, he replied: ‘Goals, assists, a bit of flair and definitely eager to win – that’s one of my things I’ve always done. Trying to help the team, winning is my mentality. Hopefully I can win a few games for Man United if it’s a close game. I’m looking forward to it.’

Ferdinand referenced players like Cristiano Ronaldo, who came to the club and made a big impact – and Sancho feels his hunger and desire to win will put United in good stead, and already sees a similar mentality from new team-mate Fernandes, who he has linked up well with in training.

‘I can see that in a few of the players, with Bruno today we were on the same team and we linked up very well,’ he continued.

 

‘Me and him love winning so I’m glad me and Bruno have the same mindset because it’s needed in a big team like this if you wanna win things you have to learn how to win in training and in matches so it’s important.

‘The whole team is a great squad. Speaking to Luke [Shaw] and Marcus [Rashford], they were telling me its a great bunch of lads. I watched a few games last season and the attack is very good. To be a part of that now is kind of crazy because I see what Bruno was doing, what Marcus was doing, Greenwood, Cavani… so to add more goals and assists is going to be exciting.’

Sancho’s switch to United was one of the biggest transfer deals of the summer – that was until Lionel Messi announced his shock departure from Barcelona and signed for PSG on a free transfer. 

The Ligue 1 side now boast a star-studded line-up featuring the likes of Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Sergio Ramos, but Sancho says the big move has only served as more motivation to improve as a player. 

He believes he could one day reach the same level as Messi and is confident about the possibility of taking on PSG’s top stars in the future.

‘I use [Messi’s move] for motivation,’ he continued. ‘PSG is a great side, they have great players like Mbappe and Messi. 

‘As a young player I’m thinking that means I’ve got to step up my game and show the world – I’m not at that level yet, but I can get to that level. It’s good competition, every young player should thrive in big games like that – if we ever did face them I’d be buzzing, I’d be ready to go.

Sancho has made his England homecoming after four years developing into one of the most exciting players during his time in Germany – having made the decision to leave Manchester City as a teenager in 2017.

He spoke to Ferdinand about the moment he opted to leave and how he was keen to prove his doubters wrong – while also declaring himself fit to face Leeds on Saturday.

‘I feel ready today in training,’ he said. ‘I feel sharp and hopefully I can get introduced in the game on Saturday.’

He added: ‘I remember making that decision [to leave Man City for Germany]. I was very scared, I left home from Watford to go to Manchester, then went abroad again. It was tough leaving my family behind knowing they can’t come and see me.

‘It was playing on my mind in the first year then I was like, “I need to take my moment and keep my head down”. A lot of people doubted the move because it was rare for a young player to go abroad. 

‘My main thing was to prove the doubters wrong and I’ve done that. I’ve done well ever since and I’ve just had to keep improving my game and keep elevating.’

Sancho will hope his career takes another upturn at Old Trafford after being included in the England squad for the Euros, although failing to become first choice under boss Gareth Southgate at the competition.

He started one game on England’s route to the final, impressing during the 4-0 quarter-final win over Ukraine, but suffered heartbreak in the Wembley showpiece against Italy as he missed in the penalty shootout.

Should he keep up his performance levels from the Bundesliga then United could be a real force in the Premier League this season – last season he registered eight goals and 11 assists in the German top flight, following up from the previous campaign where he notched 17 goals and 16 assists.

Source: dailymail