Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq attempted to recruit Sancho but refused to agree to a £50m obligation to buy in their proposed deal, as talks collapsed.
While Ten Hag has blamed “off-field issues” for Antony’s underwhelming displays this season before transfer listing the Brazilian, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho have cemented themselves as first-choice wingers.
“I think his off-field issues stop him playing,” Ten Hag said. “I think first year was OK and I think in the pre-season he was very OK. First four games were very good. He was out and then he came back. He didn’t deliver the performance we should expect from him and he can do so much better.”
