Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has backed Jadon Sancho to find his best form for the 20-time English champions, with the attacker expected to be an important player for the Red Devils in 2023-24.
The 23-year-old has largely struggled since arriving at Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund two years ago, only managing 12 goals and six assists in 79 appearances in all competitions.
Sancho missed a period of the 2022-23 campaign due to a personal issue, but he still featured on 41 occasions, scoring seven goals and registering three assists in the process.
The Englishman has been heavily involved during Man United's pre-season, spending time as a centre-forward due to the team's lack of options in that area of the field.
Ten Hag has challenged Sancho to perfect his end product and show consistency in his performances in order to fully realise his potential at Old Trafford.
"He has the skills, so for him it's also the same [as it is for Harry Maguire]. He has to show consistently that he can make a huge contribution," ESPN quotes Ten Hag as saying.
"When you are a forward, that end product is the key, so make sure you are making the key actions, the final pass and get your goals in, because that's why he is here.
"The rest has to be good as well. That is your foundation and then you meet all the other standards that we expect from a player. On a high level every third or fourth day.
"In this moment he is in a very good vibe. He decides how he is, how his mood and vibe is. He has a lot of energy - we all saw it from the moment he came back. He wants to enjoy football and be successful.
"That's exactly it. It's the development. The Bundesliga is perfect preparation for the Premier League. [The Premier League] is tougher. I think your vision is a little bit grey. I saw many games at Dortmund, and Sancho is not such a different player in Dortmund as he is here.
"But also for him, he has to get more consistency in his performances, and he has to do it at a higher level."
Ten Hag was also asked about the type of football that his team will be aiming to play during the 2023-24 campaign.
"I think it's not so much different from last season, but we want to do it better. In every moment of the game, we have to improve. What fits this team is transition, both ways. When you want to have good attacking transitions, you need very good pressing. That's key and so we work a lot on that, on moments where we are compact," he said.
"From compactness, we press the opponent and that can be at different levels on the pitch. But we have to be proactive with our defending, and once we have the ball we have to keep the ball, or go on a transition."
Man United will take on Lens and Athletic Bilbao in their final two pre-season friendlies this weekend before opening their Premier League campaign against Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 14. body check tags ::
