Jadon Sancho can temporarily leave Manchester United at the last minute on Thursday. The 23-year-old winger publicly confronted his trainer Erik ten Hag last weekend, who kept him out of the selection for the away game against Arsenal (3-1 loss).
When asked last weekend, Ten Hag said that based on his performance on the training field, Sancho was not part of the group of players that competed against last season’s number two in London. However, the player categorically denied this with a vicious message to X. “Please don’t believe everything you read!” Sancho wrote on social media. “I don’t accept people saying things that are completely untrue. I positioned myself very well during training this week.” Without naming him, the former Borussia Dortmund player also expressed his suspicion that he had been left out of the selection for ‘other reasons’.
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Rob Dawson, journalist at the English branch of ESPN, writes that Sancho is now ‘fighting to save his Manchester United career.’ Based on sources around the club, Dawson reports that Ten Hag and his staff feel ‘particularly let down’ by the player, after they took ‘extraordinary’ measures to help him recover last season. For example, Ten Hag temporarily flew the attacker to the Netherlands, where he worked on his fitness and mental health on the fields of amateur club OJC Rosmalen, out of sight of the British press.
Although the transfer market is now closed in most countries, there is still a club that hopes to benefit from the disagreement between Sancho and Ten Hag. CBSjournalist James Benge reports that the Saudi Al-Ettifaq, the club of coach Steven Gerrard who previously attracted Georginio Wijnaldum, is trying to bring the attacker to Saudi Arabia just before the deadline expires. It would involve a rental deal in which the club might also want to negotiate an option to purchase, although the latter may no longer be possible given the short time left to make a deal. The transfer market in Saudi Arabia closes today (Thursday, September 7) at 11:59 PM.
Al-Ettifaq set to make dramatic late loan move for Jadon Sancho. Steven Gerrard’s side would be prepared to offer a buy option too but given limited time a standard loan may be only possibility. Sancho’s view on interest remains unknown. https://t.co/ecxx9QMifc
— James Benge (@jamesbenge) September 7, 2023
