Unai Emery issues Jadon Sancho demand as Man Utd loanee sent new reality check

Unai Emery has made it clear Aston Villa have to get Jadon Sancho fit before he can fire on all cylinders. The on-loan Manchester United man made his debut for the Villans as they exited the Carabao Cup on penalties against Brentford, after a 1-1 draw.

Sancho had a chance to put Villa 2-0 up, after Harvey Elliott’s opener, but struck the post from a tight angle before Aaron Hickey equalised for the Bees.

The result means Villa are still winless so far this season, having failed to claim three points - and even score a goal - in their opening four Premier League matches.

“We have to build a team again to be as strong as possible in our structure and get new players to adapt as soon as possible,” said Emery.

“In the offensive positions, we need to get Sancho fit and get Elliott adapted to us,” he added.

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Sancho is lacking match fitness having not played for United during pre-season before leaving Old Trafford for Villa Park. He has made the same move as Marcus Rashford, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Villa from the Red Devils.

Speaking on Sky Sports after Villa’s Cup exit, pundit Jamie Redknapp made his feelings on Sancho clear. “I don’t think Sancho’s an upgrade on what they had with Rashford and (Marco) Asensio,” he said.

Sancho, meanwhile, posted a message on Instagram after making his debut, which was liked by Rashford.

“Happy to make my debut,” he said. “Not the result we wanted but something to build on.”

Villa face Sunderland this weekend, looking to arrest an alarming slump to start the new season. But Emery insists his charges are improving after finally breaking their scoring duck.

“We have improved things,” Emery claimed in his press conference. “We have to build a team again to be as strong as possible in our structure and get new players to adapt as soon as possible.

“We played 90 minutes in good balance to dominate and to try to create chances and perform the things we need. We scored one goal and we drew. The penalties we lost - a little bit disappointing - but we have our way.

“Our way now is to try and build a team as soon as possible in the structure we want to get, strong defensively and offensively, with players knowing each other and getting combinations. We have to accept the result and keep going.”

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