Manchester United star Jadon Sancho will be hoping to feature in tonight’s FA Cup showdown with Reading.
Manchester United star Jadon Sancho has been training ahead of his side’s FA Cup clash with Reading. And the smile on his face suggests he’s now starting to enjoy his football again as he looks to make a return to Erik ten Hag’s side. The England international last featured in a goalless draw with Chelsea back in October, and has spent time working on his mental and physical health in the time since.
Manchester United go up against Reading in the FA Cup this evening looking to make the fifth round of the competition.
And Ten Hag revealed on Friday that Sancho was training well, though stopped short of confirming the forward’s involvement in the upcoming fixture.
Images from Getty show Sancho looking happy in training, however, with the 22-year-old having a big smile on his face.
He was put through his paces at Carrington with the rest of the senior players, including Anthony Elanga.
And that suggests the United star is beginning to fall back in love with football, having endured his fair share of issues so far this term.
Sancho started the season well, scoring in victories over the likes of Liverpool and Leicester.
However, he then proceeded to regress and was hauled off by Ten Hag during his side’s draw with Chelsea back in October.
Now, United will be hopeful Sancho can kick on and regain the form that made them spend £73million on him in the first place.
The Red Devils landed the forward back in the summer transfer window of 2021, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer convinced he’d be a huge asset for the club.
But Sancho, ever since, has blown hot and cold and struggled for consistency.
He never showed his best form under either Solskjaer or Ralf Rangnick last term as United finished sixth in the Premier League table.
And Ten Hag will want Sancho to regain his mojo so he can challenge other forwards such as Marcus Rashford, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho for a starting berth.
Speaking ahead of the match with Reading, Ten Hag provided an update on his No 25 by saying: “We always have issues but I think tomorrow we will have a strong selection for this game, we have a good squad, we can cover things.
“He (Sancho) is training with the team and we will see. So he’s improving, he’s making steps and we will make the decision after training.
“I said he’s on the way back, he’s making steps, he’s back in team training and we have to see when he’s ready to go back into games.”
And he also downplayed concerns over complacency ahead of the game with Paul Ince’s team.
“That’s on paper,” he said when told United were favourites for the game. “Football is never decided on paper.
“We have to be ready for every game, every opponent will be tough, especially in the cup for them it’s a perfect chance, we have to be aware of that, be on the front foot, be focused and show energy.
“We want to win every game, so we plan every game fully and the next game is also the most important game.”
This is the third time United and Reading have met in the FA Cup over the past six years.
Source: www.express.co.uk
