Fabrizio Romano has given insight on Erik ten Hag and Jadon Sancho’s feud.
Sancho and Manchester United manager Ten Hag are locked in a public feud after the winger was benched for the club’s game against Arsenal due to poor training performances.
The 23-year-old did not travel to north London for Sunday’s Premier League match, which United lost 3-1 thanks to two stoppage-time goals. Ten Hag revealed after the game that the England international had been dropped owing to his training standard.
“Jadon, we did not select him based on his performances in training,” the Dutchman revealed during his press conference. At Manchester United, you have to perform at a high level every day, and we have options in the front line. As a result, he was not chosen for this game.”
Sancho, on the other hand, responded on X, the social networking platform formerly known as Twitter, saying, “Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not tolerate people stating things that are entirely false; I have performed admirably in training this week.
“I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I will not discuss; I’ve been used as a scapegoat for a long time, which isn’t fair!” All I want to do is grin and contribute to my squad while playing football.
“I respect all decisions made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and (am) grateful to do so, which I know is a challenge every week.” “I will fight for this badge no matter what!”
According to Romano, there was pre-existing friction between Ten Hag and Sancho, and the two are scheduled to meet face-to-face this week.
“It’s a tense situation, and this tension with Jadon Sancho was already there in the last two to three weeks,” the Italian journalist noted on his YouTube channel.
“It’s something that those close to Manchester United are well aware of because Erik ten Hag, and not just Erik ten Hag, but people on his staff, were not pleased with Jadon Sancho’s level of training.” They were hoping for something different.
“However, it is also true that Jadon Sancho’s place is crystal apparent. He believes there is something else going on that is unrelated to his training results, which is why he was not selected for the game against Arsenal. He didn’t want to say [what that reason is] in public, but the atmosphere between Ten Hag and Sancho appears strained.
“Also, Ten Hag believes he did his best to assist Sancho during a difficult period last season, so he wants Jadon Sancho to perform to the best of his ability, or he will not be part of the squad.”
“However, according to sources close to Sancho, he is doing his best and believes it was a different decision.” We’ll have to wait and watch how it develops.”
“From Manchester United’s [perspective], the message from the manager was clear, and we stand by what the manager said in his press conference,” Romano continued.
“Of course, it is now expected that there will be a direct, face-to-face discussion between Ten Hag and Sancho to clarify the issue this week.”