Jadon Sancho hits back at Erik ten Hag for “completely untrue” criticism
The Manchester United head coach said that the Englishman’s performances on the training ground had not been acceptable.
Jadon Sancho has hit back at Erik ten Hag after the Manchester United boss publicly criticised his performances in training.
Speaking after the Red Devils’ dramatic defeat to Arsenal on Sunday, Ten Hag revealed that Sancho had failed to “reach a level” that was required on the training ground.
“Jadon, on his performances in training we did not select him,” Ten Hag explained.
“You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United and we can make choices in the front line. So for this game he was not selected.”
The manager believes we deserved more from today's game 👇#MUFC || #ARSMUN
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 3, 2023
Sancho, who cost the club £73 million when he signed from Borussia Dortmund, did not earn a place in United’s 20-man matchday squad.
What did Jadon Sancho say about Erik ten Hag?
It is rare for a manager to single out an individual in this way and it made headlines immediately. The Dutchman’s comments also sparked a response from Sancho, who took to social media to voice his objections to the claims.
“Please don’t believe everything you read,” the 23-year-old wrote.
“I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself very well in training this week.”
— Jadon Sancho (@Sanchooo10) September 3, 2023
The Englishman continued: “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 has struggled since making the big-money move to Old Trafford two years ago. It had looked like he was enjoying a revival over the summer, getting minutes in a more central ‘false nine’ role in pre-season friendlies.
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However he appears to have slipped further down the pecking order after the arrival of Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta this summer. The 20-year-old made his debut against Arsenal and caused the Gunners backline problems.
It remains to be seen what will happen to Sancho, but the very public conflict between him and his manager does not bode well for his first team prospects going forward.