Jadon Sancho: Aston Villa boss explains surprise decision to sub off United loanee shortly after bringing him on

Jadon Sancho is having a tricky time out on loan at Aston Villa.

Last Thursday, the feeling was that he may have begun his path to resurgence.

Yes, Villa lost 2–1 to Go Ahead Eagles, but the Manchester United loanee delivered a solid performance, one described as a “positive shift” .

His tidy 66-minute display in that Europa League clash should have earned him a starting spot against Manchester City. But it did not.

Come Sunday afternoon, Sancho was back on the bench. The 25-year-old may well have resigned himself to another late cameo.

But 29 minutes into the Villa vs City game, Emiliano Buendía picked up an injury, and Sancho got his chance.

He was not a game-changer, but he put in another decent shift.

He completed 15 of his 17 passes, registered two shots on target, and beat his man once from three attempted dribbles.

Truthfully, Sancho did not have a poor game; he was decent once again. So it raised eyebrows when he was hooked off in the 74th minute, replaced by Evann Guessand.

Frustrated by the decision, the winger ignored Unai Emery’s attempt at a handshake as he left the pitch. He also snubbed a high-five from teammate Ross Barkley.

Much has been said about the incident, and now Emery has spoken directly.

“Yes, sure he’s [Sancho] not happy, but I did it before with Morgan Rogers, with Emiliano Buendía, with Leon Bailey — and he played 60 minutes on Thursday,” the Spaniard told Manchester Evening News .

“Today, when Buendía was injured, my plan was maybe for Sancho to play 30 minutes, but I decided to give him more, and he played 45. But the idea was never for him to play all the way to the end.”

Given Sancho has just returned from injury , it makes sense that Villa’s technical bench are managing his workload.

But as steady as he has been, sooner or later, he needs a proper run to show what he is really about.

His performances against Go Ahead Eagles and City were not eye-catching, but they were promising. If built upon, they could spark the resurgence the 25-year-old is craving.

Featured image Eddie Keogh via Getty Images

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