MANCHESTER UNITED FORWARD JADON SANCHO SAYS HE IS ‘A SCAPEGOAT,’ RESPONDS TO MANAGER ERIK TEN HAG
Manchester United forward Jadon Sancho has hit back at team manager Erik Ten Hag, saying he has “been a scapegoat for a long time,” after he was dropped for United’s game against Arsenal on Sunday night.
Sancho, who hasn’t started one game in the Premier League this season, posted a statement on social media after Ten Hag told reporters the England international “did not meet the levels” in training this week, citing that as the reason why he was not included in the team squad on Sunday.
“Jadon, on his performance on the training [that’s why] we didn’t select him,” said Ten Hag. “You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United and we can make choices on the frontline. So for this game, he wasn’t selected.”
With questions surrounding his dedication and performances at Manchester United since making the £73 million move to the club two years ago, Sancho took to social media to present his case. “Please don’t believe everything you read!” he wrote. “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 go into, I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair!”
Sancho then went on to say that he just wants to “play football with a smile” and reassured United fans that he would continue to fight for the badge “no matter what.”
“All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team,” Sancho went on. “I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge. I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!”
As per The United Stand’s Faz, Sancho has been vocal about his lack of playing time to Erik Ten Hag in the changing room and feels a lack of playing time has also affected his England career. Sancho wasn’t called up to join the England squad for the team’s matches against Ukraine and Scotland this month, and the young forward was omitted from the 2022 FIFA World Cup squad in December. Sancho has also failed to make an appearance for the national team since 2021.
The United Stand also understands the Camberwell-born forward has raised concerns as to why he’s used so much in preseason but not during the season. Sancho also feels he’s shown enough to receive starting minutes while there have been clear concerns from Erik Ten Hag about why the winger isn’t able to keep up with training demands. As it stands, the Dutch manager is dissatisfied with his performances.
This comes just two weeks after Alejandro Garnacho’s brother, Roberto Garnacho posted a cryptic tweet on social media criticizing the decision making for the starting lineup at United. Erik Ten Hag rarely makes huge changes to his starting lineup and has stubbornly insisted on starting Brazilian winger Antony despite his lack of goal contribution to the team. Antony has only scored one goal and provided two assists in the Premier League since October 2022 compared to Sancho’s four goals and three assists during that period.
“If you all knew things that I know,” Garnacho’s brother wrote on Twitter before deleting the cryptic tweet. “You would understand more about who starts and who do not…”
This, however, isn’t the first time Sancho has been criticized for his quality in training. The 23-year-old also faced the same backlash at both Manchester City and with the national team, failing to get more than a few opportunities in the 2020 EUROs two years prior with England until the quarter finals due to his training form. Sancho was also fined £86,000 by Dortmund for continuing to turn up late for training in 2019 and was reported to have regularly missed training sessions for Manchester City in 2016/17.
Sancho missed an entire three-month period with United last season due to physical and mental issues, and was given leave to travel to the Netherlands to work with coaches recommended by manager Erik Ten Hag.
European transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano reported on Monday morning that Ten Hag and some of his staff haven’t been happy with Sancho’s level of training and the tension within the training ground has been surrounding the player for the past two to three weeks. The young forward believes there is ‘something else’ and those closest to him believe he is doing his best.
According to Romano, Ten Hag believes he did his best to help Sancho through a tough time last season and wants him to perform, otherwise he won’t be selected for future matches. Romano also reported that Sancho’s name came up when Chelsea and Manchester United were discussing a swap deal involving left back Marc Cucurella last month. Although Sancho’s name was on the table, the deal never materialized and no concrete decision was made. Nor was it close.
While the situation is definitely unfortunate, it seems quite unlikely that Sancho would have made that statement without talking to his team and being fully aware of the repercussions that come with it. If this is so, the former Borussia Dortmund man might have had all the options laid out to him, including a move away from United if the club decides to move on from him.
Sancho has endured a tough two-year stint at United, coming off a disappointing European tournament in 2021 in which he missed England’s fourth penalty in the final against Italy, and eventually the European championship. The previous three-time Bundesliga player of the month with Borussia Dortmund has only scored nine league goals and provided six assists in his 58 appearances for Manchester United since his move ahead of the 2021/22 season.
Former Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand spoke on the situation on Sunday night after United’s 3-1 defeat to last season’s runners up, Arsenal. “There’s no way Jadon [Sancho] is putting out a statement like that if he hasn’t, in his own eyes, performed well,” said Ferdinand. “Now that’s the difference as well. It’s like, on his chart, Jadon, ‘I’ve trained alright’ but the manager might have a certain standard.”
“There’s only one way that this ends right now. Or two ways. There’s only one window open and that’s Saudi, or you’re [either] on the bench, or not getting into the squad for the rest of the season.”
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Ardfern. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.