Paul Hirst
Jadon Sancho is finding it hard to deal
with the psychological pressures that
come with playing for Manchester
United, according to his manager.
Ralf Rangnick sought to explain
yesterday why Sancho, the fourth-most
expensive signing in the club’s history at
£73 million, has failed to replicate the
success he enjoyed with his previous
club, Borussia Dortmund.
Sancho, 21, was one of the biggest
stars in the Bundesliga — with 50 goals
and 64 assists in his 137 games for
Dortmund — but has scored only twice
since his switch to Old Trafford and has
failed to register any assists.
Rangnick, who has vast experience of
managing in Germany, tapped his
temple with both index fingers when
asked why Sancho had failed to hit the
ground running at United.
“He’s playing in a different league
and is playing for one of the biggest
clubs in the world — it’s also got to do
with a lot of the things up here in his
head,” Rangnick, United’s interim man-
ager, said. “Whenever I see him train,
he’s showing up and is one of the best
players. Now it’s about showing the
same kind of level on the pitch.
“Everyone expected from him that
he would be one of the best players in
the team. This is psychologically, emo-
tionally a more challenging situation
than the one at Dortmund, and these
are exactly the kind of steps that he has
to make to become a top player for the
next ten years at this club.”
Rangnick has known about Sancho’s
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‘Struggling’
Sancho feels
United strain
potential for some time. He tried to sign
him for RB Leipzig in 2017 when the
winger decided that he wanted to leave
Manchester City. Sancho chose
Dortmund instead, where he
progressed from a promising talent to
one of the league’s top performers.
To go from the Bundesliga to playing
for the self-styled biggest club in the
world is a much bigger challenge but
Rangnick is hopeful that he and his
coaching staff will be able to get the best
out of the England player.
“It’s a difference if you come as a
17-year-old, unknown talented English
boy to Borussia Dortmund,” Rangnick
said. “From then on, you can only
improve. The level of expectation was a
lot lower compared to the situation
where you come to a club like United
for a high transfer fee.
“We can give guidelines, we can give
him a helping hand and show him we
are trying to accompany him on this
way and give him all the necessary
assistance that he needs, but in the end
it’s up to him to take the next steps.”
Sancho, as with many United players,
has not been helped by the fact that he
has played under three managers this
season: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the
caretaker Michael Carrick, and
Rangnick, who is in charge until the
end of the season.
He has played in three different
formations since joining United and, in
14 starts, has lined up eight times on the
left wing and six on the right. The con-
stant change of formation and person-
nel has annoyed some players, but
Continued on page 59Raducanu roars back to form
US Open champion, 19, beats Sloane Stephens at the Australian Open in her
first grand-slam match since the triumph in New York last year, pages 66-67Thorpe future
put in doubt
Elizabeth AmmonJones: Farrell
captains if fit
Will Kelleher Deputy Rugby CorrespondentGraham Thorpe faces an uncertain
future as an England assistant coach
after a video he took of Tasmanian
police breaking up a drinking session
involving Ashes players from both
teams at 6am on Monday was made
public.
It is understood that Thorpe already
had plans to leave his role and had
applied for the head coach position at
Middlesex. The 52-year-old’s departure
could be hastened as the ECB is
investigating the leaked footage of the
incident at the hotel where both teams
were staying for the final Test in
Hobart.
The police were called because
Thorpe was reportedly smoking a cigar
inside the hotel and a fellow guest also
complained that Joe Root, James
Anderson, Thorpe and Australia’s
Continued on page 57Eddie Jones said Owen Farrell would
captain England in their first match of
the Guinness Six Nations if he is fit, as
he backed the fly half to bounce back
from two months out with injury.
Jones called up six uncapped players
as George Ford, Billy and Mako
Vunipola were left out of the England
squad again, and Sam Underhill, Elliot
Daly and Manu Tuilagi were also
omitted, with the head coach keen for
them to prove their match fitness.
However Jones picked Farrell, 30, as
the captain in a 36-man squad for a
Brighton training camp next week
despite the Saracens back having not
played since November 13, when he
injured his ankle against Australia.
Jones’s squad included Orlando Bailey,
the 20-year-old Bath fly half, as
Continued on page 64Rangnick says £73m burden affecting winger
Tuchel’s misfiring team drop
more points in Brighton draw
Pages 62-63Chelsea slump again