Sancho was a substitute that day but Pogba was at the height of his powers, notching four assists against Leeds \u2013 equalling the Premier League record for assists in a game. United also had Donny van de Beek, a \u00a335m signing from 2020 who many expected to fire having been a star for Ajax, as well as the homegrown players Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, plus Anthony Martial. Whether this squad needed Ronaldo was hardly the point; either way Solskj\u00e6r was blessed with an array of attacking talent.<\/p>\n
That many of these players have since slipped into obscurity \u2013 Pogba and Sancho are without clubs \u2013 is perhaps a suggestion that it would never have clicked for United, for all of Solskj\u00e6r\u2019s good intentions. The Norwegian, flanked by Michael Carrick<\/a> and Kieran McKenna, sought to tweak United\u2019s style from counterattacking to something more possession-based and dominant. But after a few damaging defeats, beaten handily at home by would-be title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, they found morale in the dressing room difficult to turn around.<\/p>\n Ole Gunnar Solskj\u00e6r with first-team coach Michael Carrick in September 2021. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff\/Action Images\/Reuters<\/p>\n \u201cWe needed to be Man United,\u201d Solskj\u00e6r said on the Stick to Football podcast in 2024. \u201cDon\u2019t defend, don\u2019t be counterattacking, go toe-to-toe with them \u2013 because if not, there\u2019s no point being at Man United. We weren\u2019t ready. Just not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Pogba and Sancho have become two of the posterboys for United\u2019s flawed planning under Solskj\u00e6r and, more broadly, in the years when Ed Woodward was the chief executive. For many years post-Ferguson, United chased big names in the hope of selling shirts and attracting advertisers, a strategy that culminated in the Ronaldo deal<\/a> when the Glazers believed snapping up the United legend from under Manchester City\u2019s noses would equate to a huge PR win with supporters.<\/p>\n Spending a combined \u00a3163m on Pogba and Sancho in 2016 and 2021 respectively, bookending this period of excess, reflects the muddled decision-making at United in the Woodward years. These transfers were presented as homecomings by United on social media \u2013 \u201cthis is his home, this is where he belongs\u201d was the strapline to the Sancho announcement \u2013 but the former Borussia Dortmund forward in particular looked unready to handle the pressure.<\/p>\n Solskj\u00e6r later revealed that an ear infection had put Sancho in hospital shortly after his transfer was sealed, setting back his progress. \u201cHe was the best option that we had,\u201d said the Norwegian. \u201cWe wanted to take the next step, to change the style, [to] add in the last-third players that could break teams down. Jadon\u2019s skill, link-up play, he offered something different.\u201d<\/p>\n A simple illustration of Sancho\u2019s underwhelming spell at United is the fanfare \u2013 or lack of \u2013 that accompanied his exit this summer. The winger, now 26, was quietly allowed to leave after his contract expired, having barely played for United in the past three years, spending time on loan at Dortmund, Chelsea and Aston Villa. Sancho remains a free agent, no longer chased by Europe\u2019s elite and only sporadically linked with a move this summer.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to Football Daily<\/p>\n Kick off your evenings with the Guardian’s take on the world of football<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Marcus Rashford, Raphael Varane, Paul Pogba and Eric Bailly warm up before a Champions League match in November 2021. Photograph: Marco Bertorello\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Pogba finds himself in a similar, albeit slightly more complicated, position, having recently been let go by Monaco. The France international returned to his former club Juventus after leaving United at the end of the 2021-22 season, but persistent injuries and a doping ban restricted him to 12 appearances before the Italian club terminated his contract. Pogba declared his \u201cnightmare was over\u201d when his four-year ban was reduced to 18 months<\/a> on appeal, and he joined Monaco in 2025<\/a>, but the World Cup-winning midfielder is again a free agent after playing six games for the Ligue 1 club. Will anyone take a punt on the 33-year-old?<\/p>\n With Rashford completing a slightly awkward return to Manchester this summer after the club sanctioned loan moves to Aston Villa and Barcelona, Fernandes has been the only member of Solskj\u00e6r\u2019s United attack to have stayed, and thrived, at Old Trafford since 2021.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782311733_174_500.jpg\")
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