Jadon Sancho admits he's 'linked up very well' with Bruno Fernandes in training

Jadon Sancho could make his Man Utd debut against Leeds
Jadon Sancho could make his Man Utd debut against Leeds / Michael Regan/Getty Images
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Jadon Sancho has admitted he's ready to play in Manchester United's opening Premier League fixture against Leeds - and that he can see the club's desire to win almost immediately after joining.

Sancho finally moved to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund earlier this summer, after years of United pursuing his signature.

And speaking to former United player and BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand ahead of Saturday's game at Old Trafford, Sancho admitted he was glad the speculation over his future was behind him and that he could finally get down to business.

"I've been waiting for a long time for this move," Sancho said. "And I'm just glad it's over now and I can get ready to start the season against Leeds.

"I feel ready. Hopefully I can get introduced to the game on Saturday."

Ferdinand has been calling for United to sign the England international for some time, and Sancho went on to admit he liked what he'd seen in early training sessions with his new teammates - already pointing out that he had seen a shared desire to win between himself and key attacker Bruno Fernandes.

When asked what he'd bring to United, Sancho said: "Goals, assists, a bit of flair and [I'm] definitely eager to win. I'm always trying to help the team and I love winning, it's my mentality.

"I can see that [desire to win] in a few players, like Bruno [Fernandes]. Today in training we were on the same team and just linked up very well - me and him love winning so I'm glad me and Bruno have the same mindset - it's needed and especially in a big team like this.

"There's a lot of players [I was excited to link up with]. It's a great squad - speaking to Luke [Shaw], Harry [Maguire] and Marcus [Rashford] at the Euros, they were telling me that there's a great bunch of lads here. I've watched some of the games last season and the attack is very good - to be a part of that now is going to be kinda crazy."

Sancho admitted that he paid little attention to the speculation over his United move when he was with Borussia Dortmund, but was now ready to go - and that he has become inspired to step his game up another level following Lionel Messi's move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this week.

"When I was in Germany, I was focused on my own football," he said. "I wasn't really thinking about other clubs because Dortmund had objectives to finish - I was going to make sure we finished those objectives.

"I'll use [Messi's move] as motivation. As a young player I'm looking at that thinking I've got to step up my game and show the world that, while I'm not at that level yet, but I can get to that level.

"It's good competition and every young player should thrive for big games like that - if we ever did face them in the Champions League I'd be buzzing and ready to go. They've got a great side."


BT Sport’s Premier League coverage kicks off with Manchester United v Leeds United live on BT Sport 1 from 11.30am on Saturday 14th August. For more info, visit btsport.com.