Former Aston Villa and England striker ‘sad to see’ Jadon Sancho not delivering on loan from Manchester United
Former England, Liverpool and Leicester City striker Emile Heskey is concerned about Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho but isn’t ready to write him off.
Aston Villa signed Sancho on loan on transfer deadline day, offering the unwanted United bomb squad member a chance to mount an unlikely quest for a place in England‘s World Cup 2026 selection.
Heskey scored nine goals in 92 Premier League appearances for Villa between 2009 and 2012 having also represented local rivals Birmingham City earlier in his career.
“It’s a tough time for the lad, but he’s only young,” Heskey told 10bet Casino.
Sancho ‘can get his career back on track’
“He’s only 25, so the reality is that he can get his career back on track, but he really needs to figure out what he wants from his career.”
A loan at Villa should represent a great opportunity for Sancho to find his feet but a long bout of illness just as the team started to improve did him no favours.
He was substituted against Manchester City on Sunday despite coming on as a substitute himself, sparking an online pile-on that was neither warranted nor insightful.
“He needs to start knuckling down and playing regular, consistent football. We’ve seen little glimpses of it, but we aren’t seeing enough of it.
“Unless you play regularly, it’s hard to get that fitness up to where it needs to be. Jadon needs to get sharper and work hard, because technically he’s as good as anyone. He’s probably technically better than all the other Villa players, but everyone else is ahead of him because they are delivering on the pitch while he isn’t.
Sancho ‘was flying’
“That’s sad to see, given the heights he was at. He was flying at Dortmund, moved to United, was in the England team. Really at the top of the game, with the best platform. Now he’s down here, but the fascinating thing is he can still build himself back up.”
Sancho will hope to be in contention to play against Heskey’s former club, Liverpool, when Villa visit Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
After starting the previous Europa League tie against Go Ahead Eagles, the 25-year-old might also be eyeing a place in the eleven against Maccabi Tel Aviv a week on Thursday.
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