I accept your challenge Trey… Five players better than Jadon Sancho
I couldn’t help reading Trey’s article about Jadon Sancho and accepting his challenge. Trey said “If you’re starting a team from scratch with age included, how many players in the world do you take over the England born killer? One? Two?” I have five and that’s without even thinking. You could also add Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kai Havertz, or Vinicius Junior to the list but I either don’t rate them personally or feel they are too close to the same level as Sancho to compare. These five though I would choose every time ahead of Sancho if starting my own team.
João Félix – while having an inconsistent season in his first with Atletico Madrid the Portuguese international has shown a glimpse of why the Spanish club spent €126 million on him. The fact he assisted in the goal that started the comeback against Liverpool in the Champions League is just an added bonus. Felix can play off the striker, in a traditional midfield two and at a push as a holding midfielder due to his range of passing ability. This sort of flexibility would be a coaches dream.
Matthijs de Ligt – without doubt the best young defender in the world. Some will say he’s had a poor season at Juventus yet he’s still playing in a side that is top of Serie A and still in the Champions League. They’ve also only let in 24 goals in 26 games. I still think Juventus was the wrong choice for the type of defender de Ligt is, but at 20 years of age, he’s only going to get better and playing the right way he could be the difference between winning and losing.
Erling Braut Håland – that’s right, Sancho’s not even the best young player at Borussia Dortmund. Håland has burst onto the scene after playing a number of seasons lighting up the Norwegian and Austrian leagues. Not exactly the creme de la creme of competition but Dortmund took a chance and boy are they getting rewarded. Håland is averaging 1.18 goals per 90 minutes this season while Sancho is averaging just 0.78. I know defense wins you championships but goals win you games that’s why I take Håland over Sancho every time.
Gianluigi Donnarumma – without doubt the best young goalkeeper in the world. The problem is goalkeepers will never make a highlight package unless they are making unbelievable saves. Donnarumma commands his area and communicates with his defense like a veteran, both things needed in a world-class goalkeeper. Unfortunately for him, he’s playing in a very poor Milan side who are struggling in Serie A with a defense so poor you could put Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta in there at their current age and it’d be an upgrade.
Kylian Mbappé – goes without saying right!?! And I’m sure this was one of the names Trey had in mind. Head and shoulders the best young player in the world right now. 1.07 goals per ninety minutes played this season the PSG forward has already won four Ligue 1 trophies and he’s just turned twenty-one. The only question remaining in regards to the World Cup winner is how long will he stay in the French League before needing to challenge himself again?
That’s not to say Sancho isn’t good. He’s very good. And if he joins Manchester United he will fit in perfectly to the style Ole Gunnar Solskjær wants to play. Unfortunately, he won’t help them win anything as although he is a perfect fit he’s also not what United need right now, but that’s a different story completely.
The problem with Sancho, like most young players including the ones I mentioned, is inconsistency. He scored a hat-trick last week in a game he dominated and he’s the second coming of Christ according to English media, however this week he couldn’t score from six yards out. I bet they won’t write about that.
