Jadon Sancho's Premier League career can't be saved - Man Utd flop needs to leave England to ensure his talent isn't totally wasted

When Sancho joined Villa on loan from United on transfer deadline day, the highly-opinionated former Villa striker Stan Collymore expressed his disapproval. 

"I think he's just one of those players now that Manchester United can't get rid of, because somebody won't come up and pony up a big fee or his wages to sign him permanently," he said. "He's been really disappointing since he arrived in the Premier League."

He also offered a warning: "Sancho’s got to get his head down and deliver because if he doesn't his career is just going to turn into a circus." 

Collymore couldn't have been more right. Sancho's time at Villa has been a short history of unfortunate events.

His league home debut against Manchester City should have been a moment to savour as Villa beat Pep Guardiola's side but it was an embarrassing day for Sancho as Emery brought him on in the first half to cover Emi Buendia's injury and then took him off 45 minutes later. 

Emery sought to spin the decision positively by insisting he was pleased with Sancho's performance but explaining that he was not yet ready to play more than one half of a game. "His impact was good, his electricity, his skill, but he's not ready fit to play 90 minutes. 45 minutes is not easy enough for him."

It was a damning assessment of Sancho's fitness levels given he had been at the club for nearly two months and had suffered no injuries in that time. But Emery's sparse use of him since then has been even more damning. Sancho has not played more than 20 minutes in any league games since.

Sancho has not fared much better in the Europa League, even though the quality of the opposition is much lower than in England's top flight. He has at least started four out of six games but he has no goals or assists. His performance against Maccabi Tel Aviv was branded "disappointing" by former Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov. His last outing in a Villa shirt, away to Basel, got far more attention for his body language than his performance on the pitch.

When taken off by Emery in the second half, Sancho didn't acknowledge his manager and then punched a seat on the bench. The incident did not go down well with former Villa scout Bryan King. "It’s no good to make a scene," he said. 

"Sancho looks to me as if he doesn’t want to be at Villa. If that’s the case, then cheerio. You don’t use a football club like Aston Villa as somewhere to earn money, you’re at a very big football club. There’s only so much they can tolerate."

Sancho's struggles at Villa are all the more disheartening because the club seemed like the ideal place for him to get his career back on track. And Emery felt like the ideal coach. In the words of Villa's former sporting director Monchi: "If there is a coach in European or even world football who is characterised by recovering players and getting the most out of them, it’s Unai Emery."

Emery oversaw Marcus Rashford's revitalisation at Villa Park after being forced out of United by Ruben Amorim at the start of the year and also squeezed some big moments and performances out of Marcos Asensio when he arrived in Birmingham with no proper future at Paris Saint-Germain. Donyell Malen's career was also at a crossroads when he signed for Villa last January along with Rashford and Asensio, with the Midlands club paying €25m for the forward compared with the €30m Dortmund had paid PSV Eindhoven for him in 2021. 

Malen has played in all of Villa's Premier League games this season, scoring four times plus an additional three goals in the Europa League. Emery also revitalised careers at Sevilla, helping Ever Banega get back to his best after falling so low that he had returned to Argentine football before being reunited with the Basque coach, who he had worked under at Valencia. Indeed, Emery liked Banega so much that he tried to sign him for Arsenal.

Emery seemed to like the challenge of having a similar effect on Sancho and when the winger arrived, the coach pointed to his former glories. "Yes, he had some problems at Manchester United, but during his time at Borussia Dortmund, he performed fantastic," he said. "He’s still young, still hungry, and has the ability to show his skills and qualities. Hopefully, we can bring out the best in him here."

Unfortunately, Emery's vision of Sancho following the path to redemption of Rashford and Banega has not been realised. And if Emery cannot revive Sancho's Premier League career, then it is difficult to see who could. 

While Sancho's attitude and problems with time-keeping have undoubtedly held him back, the simple fact is his style of play does not suit the blood and thunder of Premier League football. Even at the peak of his powers in Dortmund between 2019 and 2021, he was never burning defenders with pace. He was most effective dribbling in transition, doing his damage in the middle of the pitch rather than the final third and playing through balls to players, most notably Erling Haaland, who would run into the box and score rather than meet a cut-back.

Given his struggles in the last four years, it is easy to forget that Sancho was something of a trailblazer for English players, the first of many to seek their fortune abroad and thrive. He needs to look to foreign shores once more.  "I think he needs to go play abroad again, as I think the tempo and physicality of the game suits him better outside of England," said Jermaine Jenas (via 10 bet). "I think players are going abroad and showing their true qualities. It doesn't always work, but I think for a player of Jadon Sancho's capabilities, I think it's a really good fit." 

"Look, is Jadon a very talented player? I think we've clearly seen he’s an extremely talented footballer, but we've just not seen it consistently since he's come to the Premier League. He's had numerous opportunities with various managers at Manchester United. Now going to Villa with another manager, and it hasn’t quite worked out." 

There will always be a table for him at Dortmund, where he returned on loan in 2024 and reached the Champions League final. If a return to the Bundesliga does not take his fancy then Serie A has been fertile ground for players whose Premier League careers had stalled such as Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, Romelu Lukaku and now Rasmus Hojlund.

While Italian clubs were interested in Sancho before he ended up at Villa, his massive wages proved a stumbling block. But his days of earning a top-end salary will end in June when his lucrative contract with United finally runs out and he will effectively be able to choose his own destination, as long as they think he still has something to give. 

And there is a strong argument for him to cut his time at Villa short in January and seek another loan abroad where he can get regular game time and show that he can perform in a slightly less demanding league.

But whether it is in January or June, Sancho needs to make peace with the fact he is not going to make it in the Premier League and still try to salvage what is left of his career.