sport news Manchester United news: What's gone wrong with Jadon Sancho and can he turn it ... trends now
If there is a bad time to tumble out of form then this is it. With a World Cup just over a month away Jadon Sancho's displays for Manchester United are hardly doing much to earn him a recall to the England squad for a trip to Qatar.
Yet, international football will be the least of concerns for Sancho right now as this poor run of form is more than a blip - it seems to have blighted his whole United career so far.
It continued on Thursday night when given a Europa League start at minnows Omonia Nicosia he was hauled off at half-time with his side embarrassingly trailing 1-0.
Jadon Sancho has struggled at Manchester United since signing for the club over a year ago
The humiliation didn't stop there though, with United legend Paul Scholes launching a scathing criticism of his performance during a match where his replacement Marcus Rashford scored twice to turn the game around and seal a 3-2 win.
Scholes said: 'Sancho never really runs in behind. He needs a fast left-back really or a centre forward to link up with and he hasn't really got that at the moment.'
It's been just over a year since he arrived at Old Trafford to much fanfare. He was an England international who had been chased for over 12 months by then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side before eventually completing a £73million move from Borussia Dortmund.
The forward hit a new low on Thursday after he was substituted at half-time at Omonia Nicosia
Scholes has hinted at the problems faced by Sancho, but why has he struggled in light of the form he once displayed for Dortmund since moving to Old Trafford?
It was playing in Germany that catapulted Sancho into English football in the first place, with his Dortmund form seeing him storm into Gareth Southgate's England team as part of a forward line consisting of him Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling while still just 18-years-old.
United legend Paul Scholes has been critical of Sancho's ineffective displays in attack
His talent wasn't exactly a secret, he was always tipped for a bright future while in Manchester City's youth academy and eyebrows were raised when he departed for Dortmund in the summer of 2017 for a little under £20million as he sought regular first-team football.
Eased into the team throughout the season despite suffering niggling ligament injuries he eventually caught a spark, starting the last four games where he scored his first Bundesliga goal and grabbed three assists.
The 2018-19 season though was his real breakthrough - scoring 12 goals and providing 18 assists in the Bundesliga that led to his England debut against the United States in November 2018.
Playing on the left side, he enjoyed an even more productive 2019-20 season with 17 Bundesliga goals and assists - which is when Manchester United first came calling.
A long summer pursuit from the Red Devils ended in embarrassing failure as the potential move collapsed due to Dortmund's firm stance on their valuation of Sancho, but it didn't knock him too far off his stride.
The arrival of Erling Haaland put more focus on the free-scoring Norwegian forward and while Sancho's numbers dropped to eight goals and 12 assists in the Bundesliga he was prolific in the Champions League - scoring six goals from as many games and providing five assists.
Jadon Sancho became a star player at Borussia Dortmund forming an effective partnership with Erling Haaland and his form in Germany earned him a place in the England squad (left)
Any perceived slight dip in form wasn't enough to put United off who once again led an aggressive pursuit -
