Giving a glimpse at what’s to come in the near future, Jadon Sancho took to the pitch for England as a late substitute against Belgium in a black out pair of next-generation Nike Mercurials.
Next-gen prototype boots are often spotted on training grounds, being put through their paces by the pros as the designers get feedback and refine the design ahead of launch. One of the main reasons that they’re blacked out and used under lock and key is to hold back any tech upgrades, shrouding the release in mystery. So it was something of a surprise to see Jadon Sancho, one of England’s highest profile players, wearing the prototype of the next generation Nike Mercurial in England’s 2-1 win over Belgium this weekend, in full view of the whole world, albeit still shrouded in darkness.
Sancho has already been positioned as one of Nike’s leading young athletes, with the Swoosh gifting him with his own signature line recently. So to see him wearing what will be the new Mercurial Superfly 8 (and Vapor 14) not just in training, but in a competitive match goes against the natural flow of things. But this is not the first time the boot has been seen on pitch, with several pros taking it for a trial, including Ivan Perisic earlier in September. Nike possibly seeking player feedback from in-match situations rather than just training.
As with Perisic, Sancho is again wearing the Superfly model, although the collar seems a little lower than what the Inter man had, hinting at a tweak in the design since then. We get another look at the reworked upper, with repositioned swooshes, but other than that it’s hard to pick out a lot more. What this does suggest though is that a release can’t be all that far off, likely this side of Christmas.
Shop the SE11 Sancho collection at prodirectsoccer.com