Jadon Sancho has responded to Ralf Rangnick's Manchester United challenge

In what has been a difficult few weeks for Manchester United, Jadon Sancho, at least, has been able to provide Ralf Rangnick and the supporters with a much-needed nugget of positivity.

After failing to make the immediate impact that he and United's supporters had hoped for following his big-money arrival from Borussia Dortmund last July, the England international has started to show exactly why the club had been tracking his signature for so long. He has started five of the Reds' last six Premier League matches, his levels of attacking output have started to increase and he scooped the in-house Player of the Month award for February.

Discovering a consistent home on the left-wing in recent weeks, Sancho has found the stability and continuity that he was after on the opposite flank to which he was bought to occupy. He had been added to United's armoury to solve their long-term search for a right-sided winger, so it is quite ironic that his best showings in red have so far come elsewhere. If anything, it is the perfect metaphor that sums up United's season.

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Nevertheless, to Sancho's credit, he has impressed on the left in recent weeks, quickly becoming one of the first names on the teamsheet. He has scored three goals and grabbed two assists in his last eight appearances, showing that he has thrived off the back of being handed a consistent run of games in the same position.

On the face of it, five goals and two appearances in 31 appearances for a player that cost more than £70million is a far cry from the return that United would have wanted on their investment by this stage, even though we are less than a year into Sancho's Old Trafford career.