Jadon Sancho comments highlight issue for next Manchester United manager

It was never going to be a particularly hard task for Manchester United to lure Jadon Sancho to Old Trafford last summer. The England international had long harboured ambitions of returning to the Premier League and proving himself in his homeland, an incentive further fuelled by the manner of his exit from Man City and his fractured relationship with Pep Guardiola.

A move to United ticked all of the boxes. On paper, they are a youthful side who match his own ambitions. They have a strong core of homegrown talent and they could offer him the chance to return to an area where he would already feel right at home.

Sancho was the first marquee signature Ole Gunnar Solskjaer secured last summer, and he would soon be given further justification for the move when the club lured Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford — two serial winners and two genuine world-class talents who signalled a serious statement of intent in regards to a Premier League title challenge.

READ MORE: PSG chief issues Mauricio Pochettino update amid Manchester United manager search

In hindsight, it is now easy to disregard United's credentials as serious challengers this time around, but at the start of the season, they had genuine ambitions of making a real go of it, given the squad they had assembled.

"I’m here with a lot of great players and I’m learning from the best," Sancho told club media this week. "You’ve got Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, Raphael Varane… all these guys have won major trophies and just being in the changing room with them gives you a blessed feeling.

"I’m definitely learning from them, on and off the pitch, especially in terms of their recovery and how they make themselves better. I’m taking in all the