‘The shackles are off’: Ferdinand controversially agrees with Sancho’s thinly-veiled United dig | OneFootball

It doesn’t take much to rile Manchester United fans up with the campaign they’re currently having to endure, but Jadon Sancho has certainly severed even more of his ties today – and with just one word.

The forward sent a message to fellow Red Devils loanee Marcus Rashford today after he made his Aston Villa debut during last night’s triumph over Tottenham Hotspur.

Rashford featured for only 24 minutes off the bench, with Villa leading 2-0 at the time, and went on to record 22 touches during his maiden outing. He completed one dribble, made 13 accurate passes – giving him a success rate of 93 per cent –  won three aerial duels and won one ground duel, finishing the night with a much-needed confidence boost in his first competitive outing since December 12.

He has cleverly opted against bad-mouthing his boyhood club or ex-head coach throughout his exile at Old Trafford. Yet, that didn’t stop Sancho from having his thinly-veiled dig – not that he has much to shout about, given his lacklustre showings since swapping United for Chelsea at the beginning of the term.

Luckily for the Reds, their loan agreement with Chelsea included an obligation to buy rather than an option, so even though Sancho is undoubtedly failing to meet Enzo Maresca’s expectations, they’ll have no choice but to make it permanent come June.

Rio Ferdinand echoes Sancho’s premise

Rashford donned another club’s colours for the first time in his career last night. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Reacting to the winger’s comment today, Rio Ferdinand attempted to dissect the sentiment behind it, saying: “You look at Antony. He’s got a man-of-the-match performance and a goal and assist in two games.

“[Scott] McTominay is playing like primetime Jude Bellingham at the moment. You’ve got [Anthony] Elanga, who’s a flying winger. You’ve got all these players that are leaving the club that are looking like new, dynamic footballers because the shackles are off, and the cloud and the pressure of Old Trafford, the badge, all that that brings, is allowing them to go, ‘you know what, wow, what a difference that is.’

“You’re probably going to see the same from Rashford. It’s about unlocking what has unlocked Old Trafford for these players to perform.”

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