Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has sent a damning message to Manchester United as he outlines an ambitious objective for new arrival Jadon Sancho.
Jadon Sancho departed Manchester United on his third loan spell at the end of the summer transfer window, with Aston Villa being his new destination for the 2025/26 campaign.
After spending time with Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea beforehand, Sancho refused to join Italian clubs on permanent transfers this summer, instead opting for another temporary move.
He spoke with Marcus Rashford before making the move to Villa Park. Rashford spent the second half of last season on loan at Unai Emery’s side.
There was never any chance that Sancho remained at Old Trafford, with it being clear that he is no longer in any of the plans under Ruben Amorim.
Emery sends damning Sancho message to United
Many have criticised Sancho’s lack of hunger for his difficulties at Old Trafford but Villa boss Unai Emery believes this is not an issue at all.
Instead, the Spanish manager has stated that he wants to exploit Sancho’s ability, suggesting that United were simply unable to do so. He also believes that Sancho can return to the England side after several years out of the picture.
“Yes, of course, this is my objective, to get him back to his best – and if he does that then he’ll come back to the national team,” Emery told the media this week when asked about Sancho.
“Every player wants to be part of the national team. When he was in Borussia Dortmund, he performed fantastic. And he played with the national team 25 matches, more or less. Of course, he’s still young.
“He’s still being hungry to show his capacity to play with his skills, his qualities, and hopefully we can exploit here, again, his best.”
Sancho turnaround will be big challenge for Emery
After Sancho refused different moves, United would’ve been thankful that Villa came in at the last-minute and offered to pay almost all of his wages for the next season.
The 26-year-old showed during periods at Chelsea that he can be a good Premier League player with the right conditions around him. It remains to be seen whether he suits Villa’s way of play.
Emery does work very well with forward players, as shown with Rashford last season, but Sancho will definitely be one of his biggest challenges.
It would be extremely surprising if Sancho was able to return to the England setup before the World Cup next year but nothing is impossible.
For United, even though they are constantly blamed for players like Sancho failing at the club, they will only be hoping that he can finally turn things around away from Old Trafford.
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