Roy Keane is being proven right about Jadon Sancho at Manchester United

It was always going to be an uphill struggle for Jadon Sancho to prove his worth to Manchester United in his first season at the club. The England international had been the club's top transfer target for over 18 months when he eventually signed in the summer transfer window of 2021, with his signature viewed as the missing piece of the jigsaw by many.

United might be hampered by revisionism now, but they had just finished second in the Premier League and strengthened an impressive squad with their £73m right winger, World Cup winner Raphael Varane and the greatest scorer in the history of the men's game in Cristiano Ronaldo.

With the help of hindsight, it is easy to see why things didn't work out, though. The previous season had been a false gauge of progress given the training ground environment of most matches. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was limited tactically as a manager, and their impromptu pursuit of Ronaldo saw them ditch months of progress to adopt a style of play that didn't fit the wider personnel.

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Sancho's slow start wasn't made any easier when Solskjaer was sacked last November, with the entire environment at the club not exactly conducive to getting the best out of a new signing who was still learning his trade.

That is another key point. As an England international, it was easy to forget Sancho hadn't ever actually played in the Premier League before, and he needed the same settling-in period as most other wingers from rival European leagues.

"He will be fine," Roy Keane insisted almost a year ago to the day. "He's been at the club less than two months. There's been a lot of changes and new players have come to the club. Give the kid a break. Give him a