Manchester United have left the door wedged open for a potential Jadon Sancho return, with the ball firmly in the 23-year-old winger’s court over his future. Erik ten Hag and Sancho appear to be waiting for different things to resolve their public bust-up, which has been ongoing for the last two months.
Sancho has been exiled from all United first-team activities since reacting badly to his omission from the travelling squad in September’s 3-1 defeat against Arsenal.
Ten Hag revealed that he had excluded the Red Devils No 25 due to unacceptable training levels, opting for teenager Dan Gore on the bench instead.
Sancho took to social media shortly after to effectively call Ten Hag a liar for his reasoning at the Emirates Stadium.
He wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not allow people to say things that are completely untrue. I have conducted myself in training very well this week.
“I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t get into; I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time, which isn’t fair! All I want to do is to play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team.”
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After unsuccessful talks to clear the air with Ten Hag during the September international break, chief executive Richard Arnold and football director John Murtough became involved in the spat.
They sanctioned the Dutchman’s request to banish Sancho from his squad until he and his players received a formal and sincere apology.
Eight weeks later, it remains unresolved. But a Sancho return amid United’s disastrous start to Ten Hag’s second season isn’t off the cards.
According to Sky Sports, Sancho continues to train alone at United’s Carrington training base, and there is currently no movement on his reintegration into the squad.
However, his return has been described as not impossible. Whether that’s under Ten Hag’s reign or in a scenario where the 53-year-old boss is dismissed remains to be seen.
The report adds that Sancho’s mood is as good as it can be given the situation, indicating spirits are high in the troubled forward’s camp.
Ten Hag is in desperate need of attacking inspiration. Only Marcus Rashford – with a goal and an assist – has registered at least one Premier League goal contribution among his forwards this season.
And Antony’s embarrassing Manchester derby cameo at the weekend added weight to Sancho’s alleged disgruntlement over Ten Hag favouring the below-par Brazilian across his first campaign at Old Trafford.
