Expert reveals ‘whispers’ he’s heard about Jadon Sancho as Man United star frozen out
Erik ten Hag sent Jadon Sancho on an isolated training programme over the winter break to help address off-field problems and send a message to his Manchester United squad.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the situation of Man United’s 22-year-old winger.
Sancho hasn’t been spotted in a Man United shirt since the winter break, with the former Borussia Dortmund star made to train alone from the rest of the squad.
The Daily Mail (4 December) reported that Ten Hag decided against sending Sancho on the hot-weather training camp to Spain and instead sent him to The Netherlands to work with some coaches recommended by the Dutchman.
Sancho was absent from Man United’s recent wins over Nottingham Forest and Wolves, but he could be in line for a first-team return after The Mirror (31 December) confirmed that he is back in England and training at Carrington.
Dinnery believes that Ten Hag is using the situation to flex his muscles at Old Trafford and try to push Sancho for a response.
“You’re never privy to the conversations that go on behind closed doors, but if whispers are to be believed, Jadon Sancho isn’t without these off-field disciplinary problems in terms of turning up late for training and so on and so forth,” Dinnery told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“Erik ten Hag, who is a disciplinarian, is using this as an opportunity to sort of flex his muscles.
“He sent Jadon Sancho away to train out in Holland, and he wasn’t invited with the squad to a training camp.
“Maybe he’s looking for a response from the player – this is an opportunity for Sancho, too, because he hasn’t been pulling up any trees since his arrival at Manchester United and had a fairly disappointing first half of the campaign.
“He’s certainly nothing like the player that we saw in the Bundesliga, and so it’s frustrating from that aspect. It is a strange one.
“If Sancho’s off-field issues also need to be addressed, then Erik Teg Hag is well within his rights to really put the emphasis on Sancho and see how he responds to the challenge of trying to get himself back in contention and getting himself back in favour.
In other news, Manchester United pulled the plug on a January signing despite compiling 18 scout reports