Yeah, you read that correctly.
According to reports, Erik ten Hag could use Jadon Sancho as a potential false 9 for the foreseeable future.
The manager said:
"That is what we can do if we don't have the availability of Rasmus [Hojlund]. Joshua Zirkzee is not so long in training so it will take time to adjust. Jadon can of course work as a striker. He can also play in wide areas but it could be he is a good option" via BBC.
I thought blud was leaving let alone becoming our number 9!
We saw this tactic being deployed by the manager in Man Utd's 3-0 defeat to Liverpool in the club's final match of the US tour. Sancho was part of a front three that included all wingers: himself, Amad and Marcus Rashford.
It was a surprise to see Sancho start up front as more often than not, it is Rashford who is the striker in the absence of a proper one.
Instead Dr Rashford played off his preferred left-wing position with Sancho being used in an area where he isn't completely unaccustomed to as he has played there before.
On last season's tour of America, Erik ten Hag deployed him as centre-forward in a couple of the games. This led everyone to think that this could be a new position for the then 23-year-old.
At this point, United didn't have a striker as Anthony Martial was unreliable with his injuries and Rasmus Hojlund hadn't been signed yet. This all resulted in ten Hag having to get a little innovative and use Sancho up front.
He didn't actually do too bad as striker in that tour but against Liverpool on Saturday, he was completely out of the game. Sancho failed to make any impact and was more of a passenger than anything else.
So is it a good idea to use him in that position?
With the recent signing of Joshua Zirkzee, many would've thought that he would come straight in for Hojlund now that the Dane is out for six weeks.
I thought this is exactly what we brought him in for. Hojlund will be the starting striker, Zirkzee the backup/rotational option with the potential to compete with Hojlund for that starting striker spot.
However, reports suggest that Erik ten Hag may not want to use the young Dutch centre-forward just yet because he only just started training at United after having time off because of the Netherlands reaching the Euros semifinal, not having trained with his new team-mates and simply because he may not be up to speed in terms of his fitness.
All valid reasons as to why the manager may not want to use the new player but compared to Sancho, Zirkzee is a striker even if he is not a traditional one.
I also think we all thought that Jadon Sancho's time at United was up after his whole kerfuffle with Erik ten Hag last season. Despite the MUFC boss saying, “We left everything behind us and we said everything about this”.
“We know from each other what the standards are and how we want to work”.
“Did he apologize? I think our statement says everything and it was clear and obvious” [via Fabrizio Romano], I don't think we all anticipated that Sancho could still be at the club and play up front at the start of the season.
Yet, here we are.
Football is a funny old game, isn't it?
I personally would prefer us to use Joshua Zirkzee instead even though he hasn't trained long enough nor with his new team. Sancho just doesn't cut the mustard for me up front even if he can do a job.
Perhaps ten Hag is also just saying this to boost Sancho's confidence or maybe even try to increase his value in the transfer market by showcasing his versatility.
Only time will tell whether all this is true or not.
Would you be happy with Jadon Sancho starting as our striker for the next few games?
If we have any issues with strikers, just get Ruud a pair of boots and we should be good 🤣. I'm sure he could still do a job.
Background Image: Jadon Sancho on pre-season tour | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal