After launching a verbal tirade on Erik ten Hag on social media a month ago, Jadon Sancho’s career at Manchester United is in limbo.
The 23-year-old attacker has been barred from all first-team facilities at the team’s Carrington training camp, including the canteen, in addition to failing to make a single matchday squad since contesting his manager’s accusations over his training performances.
It’s difficult to see a path back for Ten Hag, the former Borussia Dortmund player who only joined Old Trafford in the summer of 2021, as Sancho is unable to accept responsibility for his actions and is unlikely to change his position either. But as one legendary United player has previously shown, nothing in football is ever definite.
Although Sancho’s training regimen was questioned when he realized he wouldn’t be playing against Arsenal in September, David Beckham approached the situation very differently, even though it was after he left Manchester United.
Fabio Capello virtually banished Beckham from Real Madrid, forcing him to train by himself and telling him he would never play for the team again. In response, though, Beckham outperformed Capello in training and finally made him make a U-turn.
Stranger things have happened in sport, however it’s difficult to say whether Sancho’s strategy would have the same effect.
Sancho and Ten Hag’s dispute has been further illuminated by a new report from The Athletic, which claims that the Dutchman confronted the former star of Borussia Dortmund on the training field because of his “commitment” to a drill.
A few days later, Ten Hag would reveal that Sancho had been left out of the matchday roster for a vital match against Arsenal, to which the youngster responded on social media.
Sancho said the following in a since-deleted post: “Please don’t believe everything you read! I won’t put up with people making up stories that are wholly false. I’ve performed admirably this week in my training. I’ll not get into further reasons why I think this is the case; it’s unfair that I’ve been used as a scapegoat for so long! All I want to do is cheer for my team and play football with a grin on my face.
“Even though I know every week is a challenge, I appreciate the coaching staff’s decisions and am thrilled to play with such amazing guys. No matter what, I’m going to keep fighting for this badge!”