Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag has no intention of backing down in his stand-off with Jadon Sancho; Ten Hag will not allow Sancho to return to first-team training until he apologises
Wednesday 27 September 2023 11:02, UK
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has no intention of backing down in his stand-off with Jadon Sancho.
Sancho has not featured for the club this month after saying on social media he has "been a scapegoat for a long time" on September 3.
That was in response to Ten Hag stating he did not select the winger in the squad for the defeat at Arsenal due to his "performance in training".
United were hoping the matter would have been resolved during the international break, with director of football John Murtough and CEO Richard Arnold trying to mediate.
There is still no compromise from either party and United maintain an apology from Sancho to Ten Hag is key to a resolution.
The Dutchman refused to comment when asked about the situation following United's 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.
Ten Hag cannot condone his authority being publicly undermined by a player - he was effectively called a liar - in a clear breach of disciplinary rules.
The Professional Footballers' Association has offered its support to Sancho, who feels unfairly treated. Sky Sports News has been told senior players at United have also tried to remedy the situation.
Some players sympathise with Sancho but no one thinks he should have posted the now-deleted message on X, formerly known as Twitter, that had been viewed more than 60 million times.
Sancho, who deactivated his Instagram account on Tuesday morning, has been removed from the first-team group since September 14.
United insist he is not in "isolation" but is pursuing an individual training programme using the Academy facilities at Carrington.
The 23-year-old is still being overseen by fitness staff and coaches, has medical support, and access to all other essentials at the training ground. The club say he is simply operating outside of the first-team environment until the issue is settled.
This is not the first time the England international has been excluded from United training under Ten Hag, with Sancho undergoing an individual fitness programme in the Netherlands last season which saw him watch the World Cup from afar.
During that period, Sancho did not play for United between October 22 and February 1 but did play in the Carabao Cup final win over Newcastle upon his return and ended last season with seven goals and three assists for United.
Sancho's latest absence from the first-team group raises concerns about their numbers in the right-wing position, with Antony delaying his return to the club amid allegations of assault.
The Brazil winger denies the claims but has been placed on a leave of absence on full pay and is not suspended.
Former Crystal Palace, Everton winger Andros Townsend:
"I've been where Jadon Sancho is. I've been that young, emotional winger. I made tons of mistakes, just based on pure emotions. In a few days, when the dust settles, you realise you made a mistake and you apologise, which Sancho hasn't done.
"I'm questioning who's advising him, who's in his ear? Senior players should be telling him, agents should be telling him, close friends and family should be telling him.
"I don't think what the manager said was personal. All he said was Sancho hadn't trained well so he wasn't playing. It was a professional opinion. Calling the manager a liar... there's only ever going to be one winner there."
"On his performance on training, we didn't select him," Ten Hag said when asked about Sancho's absence from the squad after the 3-1 defeat at Arsenal.
"You have to reach the level every day at Manchester United. You can make choices in the front line so in this game he wasn't selected."
But following Ten Hag's comments in the post-match press conference, Sancho issued a statement on X saying: "Please don't believe everything you read!
"I will not allow people saying things that is 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."
