Thursday, December 26, 2024

Ten Hag breaks silence on Sancho after return to Man Utd squad following bust-up

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ERIK TEN HAG has broken his silence on resolving his bust-up with Jadon Sancho – but refused to say if the winger has a future at Manchester United.

Sancho, shipped out on loan to former club Borussia Dortmund in January, returned to full-time training at Carrington last week.

United boss Ten Hag speaks on Jadon Sancho’s return for the first timeCredit: Getty
Sancho returned to first team pre-season training session at Carrington last weekCredit: Getty

The 24-year-old and Ten Hag held positive talks last Wednesday – agreeing to draw a line under their past disputes.

Sancho was permitted to return to training with United’s senior squad for the first time in 10 months.

But he did not travel to Norway for the club’s first pre-season friendly against Rosenborg on Monday – where United suffered a shock 1-0 defeat.

Speaking publicly for the first time since making up with Sancho, Ten Hag said their bust-up was now old news.

The Dutchman said: “As we said, we’ve drawn the line.

“Manchester United needs good players and Jadon is a good player. We have drawn that line and we move on.”

But when quizzed on Sancho’s complete fresh start, Ten Hag would only say: “We’ve drawn the line. We move on.”

The £73million star was made to train on his own after publicly lashing out at Ten Hag last season.

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He contradicted Ten Hag’s reasons for leaving him out of United’s matchday squad that lost 3-1 away to Arsenal last September.

Ten Hag claimed Sancho was dropped as a result of poor training performances, but the winger argued he was being made a ‘scapegoat for a long time’.

Man Utd coach reveals why Jadon Sancho refused to apologise to Ten Hag before exile that sparked Dortmund transfer

Sancho then refused to apologise and subsequently spent the second half of last season on loan with his old German club.

Dortmund did not follow through on their interest in re-signing him, despite Sancho helping them reach the Champions League final at Wembley.

Ten Hag will hope that the reintroduction of first team stars will improve his side’s performances in pre-season.

Sancho was one of six players left at home as United faced 22 shots in their defeat to Norwegian side Rosenborg.

The Dutch boss was left frustrated despite utilising a young a team.

He said: “We can talk and make good on everything that was bad, but I am not that guy. I have seen that this is not the standard for top football.”

Ten Hag made the expected sweeping changes for the second half, replacing all 10 outfield players with academy products.

United are set to face Rangers at Murrayfield on Saturday before heading out to the United States to step up preparations for next season.

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