Man Utd star Jadon Sancho defended by Paul Scholes after ’embarrassing’ humiliation

Jadon Sancho was hauled off just 45 minutes after coming on as a substitute for Aston Villa against Manchester City on Sunday, but Paul Scholes has defended the Manchester United forward

Paul Scholes has doubled down on his belief that Jadon Sancho possesses the skill and ability to flourish as a top-tier Premier League talent – despite enduring one of the most embarrassing moments of his career during Aston Villa’s clash with Manchester City on Sunday.

The Manchester United winger, who spent the previous campaign on loan at Chelsea, joined Villa on a temporary deal during the summer transfer window. His time at Villa Park has been difficult so far, with the player yet to find the net or provide an assist across five outings.

Following encouraging signs in the Europa League encounter against Go Ahead Eagles last Thursday, hopes were high that Sancho could build momentum when Villa took on Manchester City at the weekend.

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Despite starting the match on the substitutes’ bench, Sancho failed to make any meaningful contribution once introduced into the action. After replacing the injured Emiliano Buendia during the first half, Sancho found himself withdrawn before the final whistle.

The winger managed just 45 minutes on the pitch before being hauled off by manager Unai Emery. Sancho entered the fray in place of Buendia during the 29th minute before making way for Evann Guessand in the 74th minute.

The England international has faced widespread mockery for being substituted as a substitute, although former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood and Scholes have come to his defence.

Speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, Sherwood said: “I like the boy. I think he’s got – I don’t know him as a person – but I think he’s got a lot of ability.”

Offering his assessment during Sherwood’s evaluation of Sancho, Scholes responded: “Loads of ability.”

Sherwood went on to say: “He needs to do it on a regular basis. You know, on a consistent basis, and if he does that, I mean, he’s good enough to play, you know, [at an] enormous amount of clubs.”

In his post-match briefing, Villa boss Unai Emery addressed the ’embarrassing’ substitution of Sancho and the decision to bring Guessand on in his place.

“Yes, sure he’s (Sancho) not happy but I did it before with Morgan Rogers, with Emiliano Buendia, with Leon Bailey, and he played 60 minutes on Thursday,” Emery stated.

“Today when he (Buendia) was injured, my plan was maybe in case he (Sancho) was going to play 30 minutes, but I decided to play more and he played 45 minutes.

“But my plan was when he was swapped with Emiliano Buendia, the idea was maybe not playing all the minutes until the last moment. And I told him as well, he can feel it, it’s embarrassing.

“Before Morgan, Emiliano Buendia and Leon Bailey, they felt the same when I subbed them, but it was not a punishment. And now it’s not a punishment.

“He played 45 minutes, I am so happy because his impact was good, his electricity, his skill, but then to play more than now he’s not ready fit to play 90 minutes, 45 minutes is not easy enough for him and I am happy and of course, progressively he’s coming better and better.”

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