Gary Neville Warns Jadon Sancho That He Could 'End Up Like Donny Van De Beek' At Manchester United

Gary Neville has warned that if Jadon Sancho is 'not careful' he could end being in the same situation as Donny van de Beek at Manchester United.

The Dutch midfielder, who joined the ranks at Old Trafford last summer, has played just five minutes of Premier League football during the 2021/22 campaign; a substitute appearance in their 4-1 win against Newcastle on September 11.

Sancho, meanwhile, is yet to register a goal or an assist in seven Premier League appearances this season.

The former Borussia Dortmund winger, who last appeared for United in their clash against Atalanta in the Champions League on October 20, was an unused substitute in their 3-0 win against Spurs.

And while speaking about Van de Beek's situation at Old Trafford, Sky pundit Gary Neville expressed his concern at Sancho's current situation at United after a slow start.

"I can't help thinking about Van de Beek," Neville said after the full-time whistle on Saturday.

"Who has put their name on him? Who's sponsoring that at Manchester United, that £40 million that's been spent on that kid who's been sat in the stand and not kicked a football for nearly 18 months?

"Sancho, if he's not careful, is going to end up exactly the same. He's played in some pretty appalling performances in the last few [weeks], not him... I mean team performances.

"He's come into a club that's looked completely disjointed in terms of their football. He's played in a far better team and unit at Dortmund.

"He's come in here and probably thinking, 'what the hell am I in here? What is this?'.

"There's no organisation, there's no structure, the defensive work rate is poor."

Neville went on praise Sancho's work rate when playing out wide for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side.

"He's actually the only player, when you look at the defensive running stats of Manchester United's front players, that's got anywhere near... I think he's fifth or sixth out of the top four clubs' front players, he was in the top 10. So he's actually put a shift in," he added.

"But he must be sat on that bench today thinking, 'what am I doing?', now he's thinking, 'where do I play in that system?'

"Because I don't see him in a three in midfield, and I don't see him in a two up front, so he's probably thinking, 'where is my career at Manchester United?'.

"And Van de Beek's thinking the same. Today has been a good day but it does cause problems elsewhere."

Thoughts on Sancho's situation at United?

Let us know in the comments.

Topics: Donny van de Beek, Football, Manchester United, Transfers, Premier League, Jadon Sancho

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

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