In the 2021/2022 summer transfer window, Manchester United signed a British wonderkid named Jadon Sancho for £73m from Borussia Dortmund. Sancho's Manchester United journey had so many ups and downs, he won the Carabao Cup last season but struggled to give his best performance. He even had a 'break' from the world of football in the middle of the 2022/2023 season. There was news that Manchester United would sell Jadon Sancho for 2023/2034, but that news cooled down.
ten Hag and his coaching staff had tried to provide the most suitable roles for Sancho, he played as the left winger, right winger, and attacking midfielder last season. In this pre-season, ten Hag tried Sancho as the false nine, and he played quite well in the two games against Leeds and Lyon. Sancho excels at passing and receiving, so ten Hag tries to maximize his ability for the false nine position.
Sancho mainly operates between the lines and tries to find space. From there, he can receive on the half-turn and progress the ball.
Sancho is quite comfortable in receiving with his back to goal and has great link-up ability, so he can help his team to do quick 1-2 combinations. Sancho's ball retention makes it hard to press/dispossessed him, which is very important for the false nine role.
From there, Sancho can offer off-the-ball runs/movements through the channels, to exploit the space behind the opponent's backline.
As the false nine, Sancho often drops to help the progression from deep, he even drops to the back line.
The movement of Sancho (who drops deep) can attract the opponent’s defender to push higher, so the space behind the backline is getting bigger.
Imagine Rashford/Garnacho attacks the space...
Sancho tends to drift to the left and open the passing lanes.
Sancho's movement from inside ➡️ outside can help players like Rashford/Garnacho move from outside ➡️ inside, so they can enter the penalty box more often.
From wide, Sancho also can create overloads to help Manchester United’s progression. Sancho has the ability to combine and provide the final ball, which can help Manchester United to break down the opponent's defensive block.
Sancho as the false nine can be a good option for ten Hag, especially against teams that defend in a low block. His creativity and combination play would be very important in that situation. The potential arrival of Rasmus Højlund can also help to get the best of Sancho in the winger position. Højlund's movements/runs are one of the best traits that Danish has. With Sancho’s ability on providing the final ball, he can find Højlund’s movements/runs easily.
Here are the examples when Sancho and Haaland played together, I think Højlund can replicate this type of movements/runs.
In my opinion, Erik ten Hag can use Højlund as the centre forward against the defensive high line, while Sancho as the false nine against teams with a low block. Both of them can play together too, with Sancho as the left winger and Højlund leading the frontline.