Exclusive: On Monday, Ten Hag is due to speak face-to-face with Sancho for the first time since player’s public outburst
Jadon Sancho is set for showdown talks with Erik ten Hag on Monday amid serious uncertainty over the England forward’s future at Manchester United.
Ten Hag had some time off last week in the wake of United’s 3-1 defeat at Arsenal last Sunday, when Sancho effectively accused his manager of lying over the reasons for his absence from the squad.
But Ten Hag is now due to speak face-to-face with Sancho for the first time since the public outburst that infuriated the United manager and cast fresh doubt over the player’s long-term future at the club.
Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq, who are managed by former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, wanted to sign Sancho before the close of the Saudi transfer window on Thursday but United ruled out a loan.
Whether United look to offload Sancho in January remains to be seen but the player’s situation is likely to become clearer after crunch talks with Ten Hag.
It is understood United were willing to listen to offers for Sancho in the summer, even if he was not a player they were actively pushing out, but no serious bids were forthcoming.
Ten Hag had claimed Sancho – who was signed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from Borussia Dortmund for £73 million in July 2021 – was omitted against Arsenal because of his performances in training.
But Sancho hit out on social media soon after Ten Hag’s post-match comments to dismiss his manager’s claims as “completely untrue” and cited “other reasons” for his absence before accusing the Dutchman of making him a “scapegoat”.
Ten Hag, a keen disciplinarian, was understood to have been deeply unimpressed by Sancho’s remarks and also felt badly let down given the lengths to which he felt he had gone to help kick-start the player’s flagging career last season.
If Sancho was feeling repentant, he has yet to give much impression of being so. His post on X, formerly known as Twitter, has remained “pinned” to the top of his account for his 2.2 million followers to see for the past week.
Some sources at Old Trafford seem doubtful that there is a way back for Sancho under Ten Hag, even if an apology is forthcoming.
And matters were not helped by the reports late on Thursday last week that claimed United were not cleared to go public with Sancho’s fight against mental health difficulties last season.
Sancho was given time away from the squad by Ten Hag to work on his physical and mental condition in the hope it would help the player to recover his best form and confidence.
In a press conference in December last year, Ten Hag said Sancho was “not fit enough” for inclusion in his squad and, when asked if there was also a mental aspect to the problem, the United manager replied: “I said physical and with the physical is also a connection with mental”.
Ten Hag did not use the specific phrase “mental health” but the fact the Dutchman’s comments from that period were being dragged up last week was not viewed as a sign that there may be an easy fix between manager and player.
Sancho is not Ten Hag’s only headache in attack. Another of his wide forwards, Antony, is facing accusations of assault against a former girlfriend that are currently the subject of police investigations in England and Brazil. Gabriela Cavallin claims she was the victim of a series of attacks by Antony between June last year and May this year.
