Jadon Sancho’s career at Manchester United is likely to end in the summer transfer window, having never recovered from his fallout with former boss Erik ten Hag
A number of Manchester United players think they know why Jadon Sancho failed under Erik ten Hag. Sancho, 25, arrived at United to much fanfare in 2021, with the Red Devils paying Borussia Dortmund £73million after spending the best part of 18 months trying to sign him.
In his first season, playing under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, the winger only showed glimpses of his talent and Ten Hag’s arrival was supposed to herald a fresh start. Sancho continued to underwhelm, though, with Ten Hag even trying to give his career a hard reset by giving the the 23-time England international three months away from United to work individually.
Sancho returned in the spring and finally looked poised to made good on his price tag in the 2023-24 season. But less than a month into the campaign, he had a high-profile falling out with Ten Hag. His comments on social media – effectively accusing the Dutchman of lying – after being left out of the squad ahead of a trip to Arsenal due to his performances in training, led to his exile.
Sancho wasn’t even allowed to eat in the first-team canteen because of his refusal to apologise to Ten Hag and in January 2024 he returned to Dortmund on loan. The former Manchester City prospect impressed, helping the Bundesliga giants reach the Champions League final, and later that summer he and Ten Hag buried the hatchet.
Or so it seemed. After not setting the world alight in pre-season and missing a penalty in the Community Shield, Ten Hag allowed Sancho to be loaned out to Chelsea, where he started brightly but has failed to register a goal or assist since January 4.
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The Blues have the option to buy Sancho permanently for between £20m and £25m but what’s more likely is Chelsea paying a £5m fee to terminate his loan at the end of the season. That begs the question, could he play for United again?
According to the Manchester Evening News, influential figures in the dressing room at Old Trafford have no issue with Sancho’s personality but rather his football. Those same United players felt that the 25-year-old was unable to cope with the lofty demands of playing for the club before Ten Hag exiled him.
Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe seems to agree, recently naming Sancho as one of five players on United’s books who were either ‘not good enough’ or ‘overpaid’. The man who replaced Ten Hag after he was sacked earlier this season, Ruben Amorim, has also batted away questions on Sancho’s future.
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“I’m just focused on my players and my problems,” Amorim last month. “Sancho is not my problem.”
It’s unlikely, then, that Sancho will see out his contract with United which runs until 2026. He reportedly wants to go back to Dortmund on a permanent basis, having made himself into one of the most exciting young players on the planet in Germany before his move to United changed things.
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