Aston Villa fans have already made their feelings known after Jadon Sancho’s first outing in claret and blue ended in disappointment. The Manchester United loanee featured in Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup third-round tie against Brentford, but he failed to make the kind of impact Unai Emery would have been hoping for.
Sancho arrived at Villa Park with a point to prove after his struggles at Old Trafford. The 25-year-old winger is still best remembered for his brilliant stint at Borussia Dortmund, where he racked up 53 goals and 67 assists in 158 appearances. His move to United for £73 million never lived up to expectation, with only 12 goals and six assists in 83 games, compounded by high-profile fallouts with Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim.
Now, Sancho is aiming to use this loan move as a fresh start, just as Marcus Rashford did during his brief spell at Villa last season.
Emery’s side have been crying out for creativity and goalsdespite boasting Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers, they came into the tie without scoring in their opening four Premier League games of the 2025/26 campaign.
A Forgettable Debut
Sancho’s long-awaited debut, however, fell flat. In 73 minutes on the pitch, the winger managed only one effort on goal—clipping the post when he should have scored.
He failed to register a single cross, lost his only dribble attempt, and surrendered possession nine times. He also came out second best in all three of his ground duels and contributed nothing defensively.
Overall, it was a subdued display that reflected the form of a player who has not held down a regular starting spot in Europe for nearly three years.
Fans React
The Villa faithful, who were desperate for attacking inspiration, were far from impressed. One supporter summed up Sancho’s big miss bluntly: “Sancho with the whole goal to aim at smashes the post!”
Another was equally frustrated: “Evann Guessand, Jadon Sancho, and Donyell Malen have all been disappointing tonight. They’re more than capable—this was their chance to prove it.”
The criticism didn’t stop there, with harsher comments including: “Sancho is rancid” and “Sancho has forgotten to play football.” One fan even aimed their frustration at Emery, saying: “If Emery thinks he can run Sancho and Digne on the left-hand side, that’s another sackable offence.”
Sancho will no doubt be desperate to put this debut behind him quickly. With Villa still searching for goals and momentum, both he and Emery need a turnaround and fast.
