Now things appear to be content between Jadon Sancho and Erik ten Hag, the Manchester United boss has another interesting decision to make on the ex-England international
Now Jadon Sancho is in from the cold, Erik ten Hag may have to add him back into the Manchester United WhatsApp group he was allegedly booted from.
Sancho, 24, has been re-integrated into first-team training with the Red Devils. Just under a year ago, Sancho was banished from Ten Hag’s unit, where he was banned from all senior facilities, including the canteen, and forced to train with the academy players.
He infuriated the Dutchman when he publicly blasted him on X by effectively accusing Ten Hag of lying about why he was not included in United’s squad that lost 3-1 away to Arsenal last season. After returning from a half-season loan at Borussia Dortmund, which saw him reach the Champions League final, Sancho was seen training under Ten Hag’s watchful eye at United’s Carrington training base.
It’s unclear as to whether United intend on retaining him for the coming season, but it’s the clearest sign he may have a future at Old Trafford. If that is the case, Ten Hag will have to add Sancho back to their WhatsApp group chat.
At the height of his banishment, Sancho was allegedly removed from the United WhatsApp group in November. The purported decision came when he was not involved with United training for the best part of three months.
Ten Hag made it clear in his press conferences that he would only consider re-integrating Sancho into the first team if he offered an apology for his social media tirade. The group chat Sancho was allegedly removed from is understood to be a vessel for Ten Hag and his staff to provide updates for the first team.
While Ten Hag and Sancho were in the middle of their impasse, it’s believed that Sancho was sent packing from the group chat. He would be loaned to Dortmund two months later, where he went on to impress throughout 21 appearances.
Sancho was even deployed in the Champions League final by Edin Terzic, which saw Real Madrid overcome the Bundesliga giants 2-0. Before the final at Wembley, Ten Hag mentioned Sancho by name for the first time in many months.
When asked about his performances, he said: “He played very well and he’s a very good player. He showed why Manchester United bought him. He showed he represents a high value for Manchester United, which is good. I’m happy for Jadon, for the performance and we’ll see what is going to happen in the future.”
Since Sancho’s loan spell ended, Dortmund have appeared reluctant to sign the former Manchester City academy prospect permanently. United were understood to have put a £40m price tag on his head, which would have represented a huge financial loss, considering they parted with £72m to sign him in 2021.
Sancho was not included in Southgate’s 33-man squad for Euro 2024, which was whittled down to 26. He has 23 international caps for the Three Lions but has not played since England’s 5-0 away victory over Andorra in the 2022 World Cup qualifying rounds.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.