When Borussia Dortmund re-signed Jadon Sancho in the January transfer window, few could have envisioned his loan spell concluding at Wembley in the Champions League final.
Unfortunately for him and his teammates, it did not end with them being presented with the trophy. Instead, they stood and watched as Real Madrid conquered Europe for a 15th time.
Despite the goals of Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior that sealed another European crown for the Champions League specialists, Sancho was still a major talking point. He has been a talking point for much of the season, ever since his public fallout with Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.
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Sancho has not pulled on a United shirt since August 26 – just eight days before he released that statement ultimately accusing Ten Hag of lying. The winger, 24, was a surprise omission for United’s 3-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and Ten Hag, in his post-match press conference, said he had been left out because of below-par performance levels in training.
“Please don’t believe everything you read,” Sancho responded on social media. “I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week.
“I believe there are other reasons for this matter which 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 contribute to the team.
“I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge. I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!”
After making such an outlandish statement, Ten Hag, quite rightly, wanted an apology. He was not going to consider recalling Sancho to the first-team squad until he got one. Nine months on, he is still waiting.
Whatever you make of Ten Hag and his future at Old Trafford, no player can undermine the manager. Sancho crossed a line and there is no escaping that fact.
It was in his and United’s best interests to get him off the books in January, allowing him to return to Dortmund on loan for the rest of the season. He made 21 appearances in his second spell at the German club, chipping in with three goals. It was a productive loan spell but it wasn’t one you would describe as blistering, although you have to be mindful of the fact it took him several weeks to get back up to speed after going so long without playing.
Despite Sancho being in the wrong for his actions last September, former United manager Jose Mourinho, ahead of the Champions League final, took aim at Ten Hag for the winger’s struggles at Old Trafford, saying: “As a player we know his talent. For sure the kid made mistakes. But for sure also his manager was not able to get the best out of him.
“I think in this case for sure they [Manchester United] look at it and try to analyse what happened at Man United and what he found at Dortmund.”
Since joining United in July 2021, Sancho has played under four different coaches at Old Trafford, including Michael Carrick. He scored two goals in three games under Carrick, but struggled to establish himself under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and Ten Hag.
Solskjaer, despite not working with the England international for very long, struggled to get a tune out of him. He lacked consistency under Rangnick, blowing hot and cold. Ten Hag, despite his best efforts, has also been unable to unlock Sancho’s potential.
The Dutchman went the extra mile to help Sancho during the 2022 World Cup break, sending him to the Netherlands to work on an individual training programme with coaches he recommended. It was Ten Hag’s way of trying to reignite the winger’s career after a testing period.
Despite Ten Hag’s best efforts, Sancho has never looked like repaying the £72.9million transfer fee United paid for him almost three years ago. He has scored just 12 goals in 86 appearances.
Mourinho may believe he has a point when pointing the finger at Ten Hag for Sancho’s most recent struggles in United colours, but the Dutchman had zero influence on his maiden season at the club, which was also uninspiring. He is not solely to blame.