Huge opportunity for Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho after blossoming starts – Man United News And Transfer News

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With Manchester United pair Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad, the Red Devils could be in prime position to benefit from the break, particularly given their encouraging starts to the season.

Rashford was not available for selection:

“When it comes to @England, every player wants to represent their country and I’m no different! Unfortunately, I’m not ready yet because I was injured prematurely.”

While Sancho was, perhaps surprisingly, excluded:

“It’s unfortunate that they don’t call me, but I have to keep focusing on myself and keep working hard, week after week, that’s what I will do.”

Both have started all six of United’s Premier League games so far this season and, for Sancho, those games have come on either wing.

With two goals domestically and one in the Europa League, the former Borussia Dortmund winger looks set to enjoy a productive campaign.

Sancho is just one goal shy of his league record last season and has certainly shown a clinical streak, having scored both of his goals from just four shots.

While it hasn’t received any support so far, it’s also creating 1.1 opportunities per 90, suggesting that your creativity will see direct rewards sooner rather than later.

Even apart from that, his ability to draw opposition defenders to him has already paid off in United’s early games. He has always been deployed in a role that makes use of his reliability in tight areas to open up space on the field for his teammates, often the opposite end of him.

As for Rashford, three goals and two assists serve as an indicator that the player who often carried the Red Devils during the 2019/2020 season may not be that far off after all.

Close enough to a goal or an assist in each game is obviously not a sustainable rate, but the underlying numbers suggest Rashford could enjoy a high-performance campaign under the new boss.

He has scored all three of his goals from an xG of 2.1, while both of his assists have come from an xA of 1.2.

It would be simplistic to simply extrapolate from there, but early signs suggest the academy graduate has every chance of posting double figures for goals and a good number of assists this Premier League campaign.

Of course, a lot of that will depend on form, fitness and who plays where.

With the acquisition of Antony for £85m, the Englishman’s path to a starting left-wing spot has been hampered by the use of Sancho on that flank. However, Rashford has been able to provide an option early on, and that versatility will likely serve him well throughout the season.

He certainly seems more capable than the version of Cristiano Ronaldo we are currently witnessing, but Anthony Martial is expected to be Ten Hag’s first choice for the forward spot.

Depending on the Frenchman’s fitness, Rashford could find himself outside the ‘ideal’ eleven at Old Trafford, but that would probably be a good thing rather than a bad thing.

Rashford has previously shown an appetite for influencing games off the bench.

Many will remember his hat-trick against RB Leipzig as an example, but the striker also remains the scorer of more 90th-minute winning goals in the Premier League than any Manchester United player in the competition’s history, all since dock.

All of that means Rashford will likely remain a key attacking weapon for his coach, regardless of whether he starts or not.

With both Rashford and Sancho having made encouraging starts to the season, the extra time they spent at Carrington has plenty to build on.

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