In mid-September, Jadon Sancho was excluded from Manchester United’s training squad as he refused to apologize for publicly accusing manager Erik ten Hag of making him a “scapegoat.”
Ten Hag had publicly criticized Sancho’s performance during a training session and left him out of the squad for a 3-1 loss to Arsenal.
Ten Hag explained to reporters, “Based on his training performance, we did not select him. At Manchester United, you must perform at a high level every day. Choices can be made in the front line, and for this game, he wasn’t selected.”
Since then, the 23-year-old Sancho hasn’t been seen in a United jersey, as Ten Hag insisted he would only reintegrate Sancho once he sincerely apologized for his behavior on social media.
According to reports from The Daily Mail, Ten Hag has imposed strict rules on Sancho, such as eating separately from his teammates and not interacting with them at the club’s Carrington training ground. Sancho is currently training alone and using facilities shared with United’s academy players.
Ten Hag has made it clear that any potential reintegration into the team depends on Sancho’s willingness to apologize, but for over six weeks, there has been little indication that the England winger is ready to do so.
It has come to light that Sancho is considering rejoining his former club, Borussia Dortmund. The Bundesliga side is also interested in bringing him back to Germany after his two-year absence.
Sancho established himself as one of Europe’s most promising young wingers during his four-year stint in Germany. He scored 38 goals in 104 Bundesliga appearances after leaving Manchester City at the age of 17.
Manchester United agreed to a €85 million (£73 million) transfer fee for Sancho in July 2021 after pursuing his signature for two years. While initially brought in to fill the right-wing role, Sancho spent most of his time at Borussia Dortmund on the opposite flank.
This led to competition with Marcus Rashford for a spot in the starting lineup, and he was unable to secure a regular first-team position.
Sancho’s situation has also had an impact on his international career with England. His progress slowed after the delayed Euro 2020 final, where he missed a penalty against Italy in the final at Wembley after coming on as a second-half substitute.
