Former England, Liverpool and Leicester City striker Emile Heskey is concerned about Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho but is not ready to write him off just yet.
Aston Villa signed Sancho on transfer deadline day, giving the unwanted member of the United Bomb Squadron the chance to begin an unlikely quest for a place in the England squad for the 2026 World Cup.
Heskey scored nine goals in 92 Premier League appearances for Villa between 2009 and 2012, having also represented local rivals Birmingham City earlier in his career.
“It’s a tough time for the boy, but he’s still young,” Heskey said 10bet casino.
Sancho ‘can get his career back on track’
“He’s only 25, so the reality is he can get his career back on track, but he really needs to figure out what he wants to do with his career.”
A loan at Villa should have been a great opportunity for Sancho to find his feet, but a long spell of illness just as the team was starting to improve did him no favors.
He was substituted against Manchester City on Sunday despite coming on as a substitute himself, leading to an online pile-on that was neither justified nor insightful.
“He needs to start playing regular, consistent football. We’ve seen little glimpses of it, but we don’t see enough of it.”
“Unless you play regularly it’s difficult to get that fitness to the level it needs to be. Jadon needs to sharpen up and work hard because technically he’s as good as anyone. He’s probably technically better than all the other Villa players but everyone else is ahead of him because they’re performing on the pitch while he’s not.”
Sancho ‘flew’
“That’s sad to see, given the heights he was at. He was at Dortmund, moved to United and was part of the England team, really at the top of the game, with the best platform. Now he’s down here, but the fascinating thing is he can still rebuild himself.”
Sancho hopes to play against Heskey’s former club Liverpool on Saturday evening when Villa visit Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
Having started the previous Europa League match against Go Ahead Eagles, the 25-year-old could also be eyeing a place in the XI against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday.
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