Jadon Sancho to Manchester United: Where £120m transfer target would play in three key formations

Manchester United lead the race for Jadon Sancho, with Borussia Dortmund sources of the opinion the Red Devils are favourites to sign the England winger this summer.

Chelsea are also interested in Sancho, 20, with Liverpool also in the mix - but United are the favourites to land the forward, who will cost upwards of £100million.

Dortmund will make a healthy profit on the £10m they paid Man City three years ago, vindicating their methodology of targeting the best young talent and giving players a chance to shine in the Bundesliga to boost their value.

The right flank has been a problem position for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Sancho would go a long way to giving United one of the most feared attacking line-ups in the Premier League.

Here are three ways United could line up with Sancho next season...

In Pictures | Jadon Sancho's 20 best moments as he turns 20

1/21

4-2-3-1

buildlineup.com

De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Pogba; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial

Solskjaer’s preferred formation, and the one he went into the season planning to deploy.

It may well have been a lot more successful if not for injury to Paul Pogba in particular, but also lengthy lay-offs for Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.

As with all these formations, there is room for Fred to come in should Pogba be sold or as an alternative to Scott McTominay.

Even with a full complement of players this system has been undermined this season by a natural option on the right, with Daniel James preferring to play left.

Sancho is the ideal fit on that side, which is why Solskjaer was so determined to land him last summer.

4-3-3

buildlineup.com

De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Fernandes, McTominay, Pogba; Sancho, Martial, Rashford

Not a formation we’ve seen too much of – probably because Solskjaer has generally been short of his best options in midfield.

With everyone fit, it makes for a midfield three that could cause problems for anyone.

Fernandes and Pogba playing in more advanced positions would offer real creativity and a goal-threat from deep.

Meanwhile, that front trio would frighten the life out of defences with their pace.

3-5-2

buildlineup.com

De Gea; Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Wan-Bissaka, Fernandes, McTominay, Pogba, Rashford; Sancho, Martial

This has been extremely effective in big games – but has often relied on riding out a storm before hitting teams on the break.

Injuries have meant Solskjaer’s had to deploy Martial and James as the front two at times, which has meant United have lacked the goal threat they might have had with Rashford in the team.

I’ve got him on the left of a midfield five because he has the discipline and energy to put in a defensive shift.

Sancho and Martial as a front two could be frightening.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in