Jadon Sancho had an afternoon to forget after coming off the bench for Aston Villa in their win over Manchester City. The winger moved to Villa Park on loan in the summer, having been deemed surplus to requirements by Manchester United. He would have been hoping to transform his fortunes with a productive spell, but so far that has not materialised.
He has only made two Premier League appearances since the start of the campaign, being awarded his debut off the bench in last month’s game against Sunderland. The forward was called into action for the second time against City, replacing the injured Emiliano Buendia after 29 minutes. However, he was brought off again in the closing stages of the match in an embarrassing twist.
Sancho was substituted in the 74th minute by Villa boss Unai Emery, with Evann Guessand playing the remainder of the game. He looked frustrated as he trudged off the pitch and did not appear to shake hands with Guessand as they traded places.
He also snubbed a handshake from Emery after stepping off the pitch, seemingly unhappy that he had the misfortune of being hooked after coming on as a substitute himself.
Emery was quizzed on Sancho’s lack of form earlier this month and was quick to urge caution, saying: “We have to build a team again to be as strong as possible in our structure and get new players to adapt as soon as possible.”
Sancho has faced constant questions over his fitness and attitude since joining United in the summer of 2021. Erik ten Hag publicly challenged his focus during his time in charge of the Red Devils and moved the winger onto an individual training programme.
After making a brief cameo for Villa in their Europa League game against Bologna, Sancho was branded ‘irritating’ by Italian pundit Maurizio Compagnoni in a brutal dressing-down.
“He is enormously talented, but for Aston Villa against Bologna he was irritating,” said Compagnoni. “It seems like he’s doing you a favour on the pitch.”
In his first interview with Villa following his summer loan move, Sancho said: “As a player and especially as a team, we have to be achieving big things.
“We have to be looking towards that and hopefully I can help the team to achieve some of those goals. The team comes first, so whenever the manager needs me I’ll be ready.
“I’ve got individual goals, but my main goal is for the team. Achieving something as a team is much more special than individually. I feel like all players have individual goals, but the team always comes first.”