Sancho 'thinking same thing as Van de Beek' as Neville makes bleak prediction

Gary Neville's prediction over Jadon Sancho does not give the Manchester United ace much hope after yet another no-show.

The Red Devils returned to winning ways at a crucial time for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Saturday when they thrashed Tottenham 3-0 in London.

With the Norwegian clinging to his job, United produced a fine display following their 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Solskjaer made some big changes from that side, mainly a switch in formation that saw him deploy three centre-backs in Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof.

However, it meant dropping one of his forward players as Edinson Cavani partnered Cristiano Ronaldo up front.

United returned to winning ways when they beat Tottenham on Saturday

Bruno Fernandes sat behind them in a system that does not utilise wingers, relying instead on the wing-backs Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

That meant Sancho was sidelined for the match on the bench and did not even get the chance to come on.

After signing from Borussia Dortmund in the summer for £73m, a saga that lasted over two years, it is a situation not many envisaged.

And Neville reckons Sancho could end up like Donny van de Beek, another player who has been almost forgotten about on the bench.

He said: "Sancho, if he's not careful, is going to end up exactly the same [as Van de Beek].

"He's played in some pretty appalling performances in the last few [weeks], not him… I mean team performances.

Jadon Sancho is yet to score for Manchester United ( Image:

Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

"He's come into a club that's looked completely disjointed in terms of their football. He's played in a far better team and unit at Dortmund.

"He's come in here and probably thinking, 'What the hell am I in here? What is this?'. There's no organisation, there's no structure, the defensive work rate is poor.

"He's actually the only player, when you look at the defensive running stats of Manchester United's front players, that's got anywhere near… I think he's fifth or sixth out of the top four clubs' front players, he was in the top 10. So he's actually put a shift in.

"But he must be sat on that bench today thinking, 'What am I doing?', now he's thinking, 'Where do I play in that system?'. Because I don't see him in a three in midfield, and I don't see him in a two up front, so he's probably thinking, 'Where is my career at Manchester United?'.

"And Van de Beek's thinking the same. Today has been a good day but it does cause problems elsewhere."

Sancho has had a tough start to life at Old Trafford and has failed to even create a significant chance, let alone grab a goal or assist.

Should Solskjaer start Sancho? Comment below

Jadon Sancho is yet to score or assist for Manchester United since joining from Borussia Dortmund

Neville added: "There is no doubt this is not Ole's plan. Having Greenwood and Sancho on the bench is not the plan. It wasn't part of the recruitment plan in the summer, that's not what Ole was thinking.

"The change of system did look like it benefitted Cristiano Ronaldo because it took the pressure off him from a defensive point of view.

"Today suited him perfectly. He looked like a team he was part of. Sancho will end up exactly the same [as Van de Beek] if he's not careful."