It doesn’t look as though there’ll be too much development in the Erik ten Hag and Jadon Sancho saga in the coming weeks at Manchester United.
The pair remain on bad terms almost four weeks on from the incident, in which Ten Hag said the winger’s performances in training had not been up to scratch, hence his omission from the matchday squad, and Sancho issued a response on social media rebutting the claims and deeming himself a scapegoat.
He was subsequently dropped from all first-team activities, including matches and training, after refusing to apologise to the manager and has since been exiled from the senior squad’s facilities. Sancho has now missed four games.
An insider that’s close to the player has spoken to i News regarding the widely-covered situation, saying that Sancho is reluctant to apologise as he feels as though it would ‘undermine going public with his views and invite similar treatment in the future’.
However, certain figures in his entourage do harbour concerns that the publicised drama could impact his future should he push for a move, as other clubs will be keeping tabs on the 23-year-old’s behaviour.
A source told i: “He is a great player, that doesn’t go away, so he will have offers in January if we are where we are now – with first-team football at United a distant dream. But clubs need to see something that would encourage them to bring him to their club. Talent alone won’t get him a move to another top team.
“We are aware of how this all looks for him, and the longer United leave him in the cold, the lower his appeal drops.”
Sancho’s fall from grace
The Englishman cost United £73 million back in 2021, at a time when he was considered one of the hottest prospects in world football due to his scintillating numbers at Borussia Dortmund.
Since arriving at Old Trafford, he has failed to replicate such form – which is of course expected to some degree, but one look at his statistics shows a significant drop-off in Sancho’s output.
In Germany, he racked up 50 goals and 64 assists in 137 appearances (as per Transfermarkt), compared to a mere 12 goals and six assists in 82 United appearances.
Since the advent of Louis Van Gaal,, Man Utd seem to always have inconsistent, opinionated, prima donnas in their squad who seem to overestimate their own value. From Depay to Di Maria, Pogba and now Sancho. I don’t think any Man Utd fan is losing sleep over the absence of Sancho. Such a shame and a waste of talent.