When Jadon Sancho was kicked out of Manchester United, he had to train alone, eat lunch from Tupperware, and play EAFC while his teammates played in the Champions League.
It was hard to imagine he would be back playing for the club less than a year later.
Even less likely was the idea that he would stay on the team and start the season as their leading scorer.
However, the player who lied to his boss 11 months ago and then wouldn't apologize, even though it would have helped him get back into the team, is now the best choice for the Community Shield against Manchester City.
United started the new season against City at Wembley, where they shocked everyone by beating Pep Guardiola's team 2-1 in the FA Cup final. They were the first team in almost six months to beat Pep Guardiola's squad for 90 minutes.
Even though they spent almost £90 million ($114 million) on two new players, their team feels weaker now than it did then. This is shown by the fact that Sancho is most likely to lead their attack.
It's still possible that Ten Hag will play Bruno Fernandes as a false nine like he did in the last two games against City. But he has given hints that Sancho will play there.
Sancho started the last two games of the disastrous U.S. tour, a 3-2 win over Real Betis and a 3-0 loss to Liverpool. The second one wasn't a good example of him in the role because he didn't get into many good places. Rashford and Amad Diallo, two wide forwards, had much better games.
Ten Hag did try out Sancho as a false nine on the last U.S. tour, just a few weeks before their friendship went viral on social media. He scored against Arsenal in New Jersey, but that was the best he could do.
When the real season began, Sancho was on the bench and only played a few minutes before being left out of the trip to Arsenal. Ten Hag then told everyone that Sancho had not been working hard enough, which caused a huge uproar.
Not much has changed since then to say that Sancho is better prepared to play up front or that his disagreement with Ten Hag has been fully resolved.
Last year, the coach was adamant that Sancho had to openly apologize for what he said. He was adamant that he would send Sancho on loan to Borussia Dortmund rather than give in.
A private chat seems enough to put the hatchet down this time, but for how long? They agreed to end their angry fight, but it feels more like a ceasefire than a lasting peace process. Sancho acting out of place will test this already weak relationship.
Sancho did get his career back on track while on loan at Dortmund, but it was while playing on the right side of the attack that Niclas Fullkrug was the clear center of attention.
He found his passing skills again while playing for Dortmund. He had barely shown them at United, neither under Ten Hag nor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. In 48 games with the Red Devils, he only got past a player seven times.
The last player to do that in the Champions League was Lionel Messi in 2008. He did 12 dribbles in one game for Dortmund against Paris Saint-Germain. United should try to find that old version of Sancho—the fast, exciting winger—rather than trying to make him new in a different role.
If Sancho plays as a standard center forward, he won't cause City too many problems because he isn't as strong or as big as Fullkrug or Hojlund. Though it won't bring out the best in him, he has a better chance as a false nine.
To be helpful, he must drop lower into attacking midfield and pick out Rashford, Amad, or Alejandro Garnacho. If he does that, he might get in the way of Fernandes or Mason Mount. Mount also has something to show after being hurt most of last season.
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