Former Jadon Sancho youth coach at Watford Louis Lancaster has revealed that the Manchester United winger was always watching the videos and clips of Brazilian Legend Ronaldinho on YouTube during his time at the Watford Academy and Harefield Academy.
The 22-year-old endured a terrible first season at Old Trafford following his £75 million move to Manchester United. He scored 5 goals and provided 3 assists in 38 appearances for Manchester United last season.
Sancho seems to be improving under new Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag following an impressive display against Liverpool.
What did Louis Lancaster say about Jadon Sancho?
“He was constantly on his phone and always watching his clips and he would practice hours and hours on skills as most kids do. At Watford, we would take the kids out of class. So, they were all scattered around and we would take them out of their Maths or English class and we would have a football session in the morning, ” he told TalkSports in an interview.
“When school finished, they had to replace the session they had missed, so they would all get together. I used to pop up just to help the teacher and to keep my eye on the children and make sure they were behaving. I remember walking into the computer room once and all the children were on the computers and all I heard was: ‘Jadon, will you do your English for the fifth time?’
“So, I look at his screen and he’s got YouTube on with Ronaldinho. So, he goes: ‘Yes, Miss!’ and minimizes it. I walked past ten seconds later, checking my shoulder and Ronaldinho’s back on the screen.
“Jadon is obsessed with football. It doesn’t matter if he’s on a school playground, on a council pitch or he’s at Wembley in front of 80,000 people. He just wants the ball and just wants to have fun.”
Meanwhile, Jadon Sancho’s schoolmate Daniel Thompson has revealed that growing up in South London had a huge influence on his development.
“He played a lot higher than his level.
“You could see that he was different. He was very tricky and very skilly and you can see that in his game now. You can see how the ball is practically glued to his feet.
“I knew from when he was younger that he used to play football on concrete, so play in cages. He grew up with Reiss Nelson from Arsenal and a few of the other boys from around there and they’re all very skillful players and the ball is glued to their feet and I think that’s where it’s all come from, playing in the street and having to use your strength and a lot of skill.”
Daniel Thompson also reflected on watching Jordan Sancho play in the UEFA Youth League against Barcelona in 2016.
“I’m a Manchester City fan and I messaged him saying that I was going up to watch the Manchester City vs Barcelona game [in the Champions League in 2016].
“He was playing in the youth team on that day in the afternoon. We couldn’t make it [his game] because I had school and we had to run up to Manchester for the evening game. But we sat only 10-15 seats behind them [the youth team at the Barcelona game in the evening].
“When I saw him and he was walking up past me, I said his name and he was like: ‘Oh my god!’ and I think he was more overwhelmed that someone from down in London in his old life had come up. He introduced me to all the Man City youth players, people like Phil Foden and Lukas Nmecha. That was fantastic.
“He was so keen to say hello to my dad because I’d always said my dad has brought us up [to games] and we’ve always been City fans since I was young. He didn’t have to do any of that.”
