Jadon Sancho’s future at United is far from clear after a public spat with Erik ten Hag as he reflects on his time at Borussia Dortmund
Sancho has struggled to deliver on his £73m transfer fee having returned to English shores in 2021 after several years in Germany with Borussia Dortmund. The winger opted for a switch to the Bundesliga rather than being patient at Manchester City. It paid off.
He became a star at Dortmund. He regularly came up with goals and assists as his stock continued to rise. However he stepped out of line, leading to notable consequences as then Dortmund boss Lucien Favre underlined his authority – much like Ten Hag is doing now.
In early November 2019, the German side played Barcelona in a crunch clash, eventually losing 3-1. They began without Sancho, who had been a leading light, with Favre citing concerns over his focus as they headed to the Nou Camp.
The coach said: “I explained to him [why he wasn’t starting] before the game. I told him it was a really difficult game here in Barcelona, and we needed players that were really focused and that went on to the pitch really focused.” After the contest, in which Sancho came on and scored, he said he was “not allowed to speak” as he walked past reporters.
The player had already been suspended by the coach for returning late from England duty and, during a damaging 4-0 hammering by rivals Bayern Munich, Sancho felt ‘scapegoated’ and even ‘humiliated’ after being taken off before half-time.
Sancho’s use of the word ‘scapegoat’ has again left him in a precarious situation. His future in Manchester is now under threat. His performances on the pitch have by no means made it hard for Ten Hag to shun the winger, who is training away from the first team.
It was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who opted to sign Sancho from Dortmund as he looked to further improve his squad. Those misdemeanours in Germany by no means put United off and they pursued his signing, albeit the Norwegian didn’t get much use out of him before his sacking.
Ralf Rangnick had a short stint in the dugout. But, since last summer, it has been Ten Hag who’s tried to get the most from Sancho. An individual training programme did little to improve his performances and not stepping up in training – his manager’s own words – saw the 23-year-old left out of the defeat at Arsenal.
Sancho didn’t concur with Ten Hag’s reasoning for leaving him out. Therefore, he responded on social media as he claimed that was “completely untrue” and he’d “been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair”. That outburst has cost the player, who has been shunned by the manager ever since.
Serious doubt now hangs over his future in Manchester with Ten Hag already showing his ruthless side with his handling of Cristiano Ronaldo, who left Old Trafford after publicly lamenting his situation at the club. Sancho has been omitted for every United game since his public comments.
Ten Hag was quizzed on the player on Tuesday night but said: “I don’t talk about players who are out of favour.” Pushed further on whether he could become a member of the first-team squad once again he responded: “I don’t know. It’s up to him.”