Manchester United's Jadon Sancho reveals how Erik ten Hag's methods changing team spirit

In anticipation of the upcoming Premier League season, winger Jadon Sancho says that Manchester United appears to be a "completely different team" under new manager Erik ten Hag. Under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and temporary manager Ralf Rangnick, the Red Devils had a disastrous season in which they finished sixth in the league and missed out on Champions League football. They also went five years without taking home a trophy.

Ten Hag, who began working as Rangnick's replacement earlier this summer, is having a solid pre-season. Manchester United have won easily against Crystal Palace, Melbourne Victory, and Liverpool. On Saturday, they play Aston Villa in Perth.

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"This pre-season, we have the same players, but it just looks like a whole different team, and I do think that's something we're working on, and I feel like we're getting better," Sancho told United's website. "The manager is big on team-bonding and having fun together and doing things like team dinners and things like that. So, yeah, it's helping."

"The training, especially in pre-season, has been a real positive, and all the lads have taken on board what he's saying; you can see it in the games. We're creating a lot more chances, keeping the ball more and just making good things out of style we're playing," the Englishman added.

On the former Ajax boss' philosophy, Sancho said, "We've been having lots of meetings with the manager and understanding how he wants us to play, and there's definitely been a big sign of everyone taking that on board and us producing what he wants to happen."

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"You can see in the games, as I said before, with how we're playing and there being a lot more structure and opportunities to score, and we're keeping the ball more too and being effective [with it]," the England international added.

The 22-year-old winger moved to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund in a 73 million-pound deal 12 months ago. Following his time in Germany, where he made 104 Bundesliga appearances, scoring 38 goals and raking 51 assists, a lot was expected of the Manchester City academy graduate. Sancho, though, struggled to maintain his success in England, recording just three goals and three assists in 29 Premier League games. After scoring against Liverpool and Palace, United supporters anticipate seeing the winger at his best this next season.

After completing a full pre-season, Sancho believes he will be more prepared to succeed in the Premier League over the following ten months. Due to England's participation in the Euro 2020 final, he didn't report for duty at United until August last year.

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"This is my first pre-season with United because, last year, I had an infection in my ear, so I couldn't do the whole pre-season with the team, which was a bit annoying at the time and [meant] a lack of fitness and understanding of how the players play. But now, this season, I feel a lot more comfortable, and, especially scoring in pre-season, it is a confidence boost for me. Hopefully, I can take that into the season and keep it going," Sancho concluded.