Jadon Sancho calls Manchester United’s future into question with his «scapegoat» message

Sancho joined Manchester United in July 2021 in a high-profile £73m transfer from Borussia Dortmund, but has rarely returned to his best, losing his place in the England squad in the process. Ten Hag, who gave him three months out of the first team last winter to deal with what the Dutchman described as «physical but also mental» problems, urged him during pre-season to show greater consistency at the highest level.

Jadon Sancho’s future at Manchester United could be in doubt after he took to social media to challenge Erik ten Hag’s reasons for leaving him out of the squad that lost 3-1 at Arsenal, describing himself as a ‘scapegoat’.

The striker appeared to accuse his manager of distorting the facts behind his omission, which came despite him coming on as a substitute in United’s opening three matches. At the Emirates Stadium, Ten Hag chose a bench with little attacking experience, with debutant Rasmus Højlund, Alejandro Garnacho and the relatively inexperienced Facundo Pellistri among the substitutes, stating afterwards that Sancho had been left out because of «his performances in training»

Sancho wrote on X, formerly Twitter: «Please don’t believe everything you read! I won’t accept people saying things that are completely untrue. I behaved very well in training this week. I think there are other reasons for this affair that I won’t go into. I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time, which isn’t fair! »

«All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and make my contribution to the team. I respect all the decisions made by the coaching team, I play with fantastic players and I’m grateful for that, but I know that every week is a challenge. I’m going to keep fighting for that badge no matter what»

After his side’s defeat, Ten Hag dismissed the idea that Sancho had been left at home for disciplinary reasons and explained that he had not reached the required standard in recent training sessions. «At Manchester United you have to reach a certain level every day and we can make choices in the front line» he said. « That’s why he wasn’t selected for this game.

Valentine AGBO