Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, has no intention of giving in to Jadon Sancho.
After claiming on social media that he had “been a scapegoat for a long time” on September 3, Sancho hasn’t played for the club this month.
In reaction, Ten Hag said he left the winger out of the team for the loss to Arsenal because of his “performance in training.”
With CEO Richard Arnold and director of football John Murtough attempting to negotiate, United had hoped that the issue would have been settled over the break for international play.
There is still no sign of a deal from either side, and United maintain that the key to a solution is an apology from Sancho to Ten Hag.
Ten Hag cannot support a player publicly undermining his authority by calling him a liar, which is a blatant violation of the rules of conduct.
Sancho, who feels mistreated, has received the support of the Professional Footballers’ Association. Senior players at United have reportedly also attempted to correct the problem, according to Sky Sports News.
While some teammates feel for Sancho, nobody believes that he should have sent the now-deleted tweet that had been seen more than 60 million times on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Sancho has been cut from the first-team squad since September 14. He canceled his Instagram account on Tuesday morning.
United maintains that he is not working in “isolation” but rather uses Carrington Academy facilities to carry out a personal training regimen.
The 23-year-old continues to be watched over by trainers and coaches, receives medical assistance, and has access to all other necessities at the practice facility. He is simply working outside of the first-team atmosphere until the matter is resolved, according to the club.
Sancho underwent an individual conditioning program in the Netherlands last season, which allowed him to watch the World Cup from a distance. This is not the first time the England player has been barred from United training sessions under Ten Hag.
Between October 22 and February 1, Sancho missed United’s games, but he returned to the lineup for the Carabao Cup final victory against Newcastle. Sancho finished last season with seven goals and three assists for United.
What Ten Hag and Sancho said about each other
“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.”