Harry Maguire: Jadon Sancho is a top player, exceptional talent

Premier League giants Manchester United confirmed an agreement in principle to sign the Borussia Dortmund winger last week.

File photo - Harry Maguire in a training session with England; Credit: Twitter@HarryMaguire93
By Karthik Raman | Jul 6, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

England centre-back Harry Maguire is understandably excited about Jadon Sancho’s imminent arrival at Old Trafford, calling him an “exceptional talent”. Manchester United confirmed an agreement in principle to sign the Borussia Dortmund winger last week. The Premier League club had said in a statement, “The signing is subject to contractual terms and a medical, which will be completed after Jadon’s involvement in the UEFA European Championship.” On the entire transfer saga, Manchester United skipper Maguire only had good words to describe his national teammate.

Sancho has scored 50 goals in 137 appearances for Dortmund since moving to Germany in 2017. In the ongoing European Championship, the 21-year-old initially struggled for game time but impressed on his first England start against Ukraine on Saturday in the quarterfinals. “Jadon is a top player, exceptional talent, a young lad with a lot of experience,” said Maguire at a press conference ahead of England’s semifinal against Denmark on Wednesday.

“His numbers speak for themselves, what he has done over in Germany. He is a great player. I don’t think it is a done deal yet. We can’t confirm he is a Manchester United player, I know it is close but he is still a Dortmund player as it stands. Of course, it is exciting times ahead and hopefully we will get it across the line.”

Harry Maguire heaps praise on Luke Shaw

Maguire also praised his club and national teammate Luke Shaw for his performances of late. On the back of his impressive season at Old Trafford, Shaw has continued to perform at Euro 2020, and the left-back was named man of the match in the 4-0 win against Ukraine in the quarterfinals.

“His ability has always been there,” Maguire said of Shaw. “He has every attribute to be one of the best left-backs in the world. The main difference I feel is his mentality in terms of pushing himself and the demands he’s putting on himself to not just be a six-out-of-10 in each and every game, to not be comfortable, to really push on and be himself, and to be the best player on the pitch because there is no reason he can’t do that with all the attributes and ability he has.”

Roberto Carlos: Luke Shaw has everything to get to the top

Former Brazilian full-back Roberto Carlos was left impressed by England left-back Shaw’s performance in the Euros till now. The Manchester United full-back has been impressive in both the knockout matches – Germany and Ukraine – to help his team reach the semifinals of the Euro 2020.

“You can see he’s very motivated,” Carlos said. “He’s really improving, his performance against Ukraine was very good. He’s been an important part of this English team, along with all the others. He’s been improving each game and I think he’s got everything to get to the top. He’s the left-back for England, that in itself says a lot.”

Carlos was asked if he sees similarities between his game and the England left-back. He replied, “I don’t like comparing. It’s two completely different periods in football. I had my time and now he’s having his. Similarities I think could be that he has strength and the desire to win, just like I did.”





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