Jadon Sancho has been frozen out at Manchester United and appears just two months away from being considered yet another one of the club's expensive flops. Regardless of what has happened between him and his manager, he needs to focus on getting back into the team to salvage his career.
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What happened?
Since joining the Red Devils in 2021 for €85 million (R1.7 billion) from Borussia Dortmund, Sancho has been largely underwhelming. Let's not beat around the bush. The 23-year-old was once considered among the best young talents in world football, but today there'll be some wondering whether he'll fulfil his potential. The winger, who has scored just 12 goals in 82 appearances for United, is currently training away from the first-team group following a fallout with Ten Hag, who publicly accused of him of not training well enough to warrant a spot in his matchday squad to take on Arsenal in September in the Premier League, remarks to which Sancho responded by claiming he had been made a scapegoat amid the team's poor run of results. While Ten Hag was criticised for his approach, it is worth pointing out that the England international was sent away for three months last season due to issues he was experiencing on and off the field. Ten Hag's seemingly empathetic handling of the matter in 2022 earned him praised at the time, but his patience has run out.
Sancho's way out…
Following his since-deleted social media post, it has been rumoured Sancho has refused to apologise after urging his followers to not believe everything they read, with Ten Hag having reportedly decided the player won't return to the group if he doesn't express regret. The Dutchman was believed to feel undermined by the attacker's behaviour, taking the player's response as a challenge to his authority. Any United supporter frustrated with the club's decline since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 should understand the importance of the manager having complete control of his squad, especially a manager who showed so much promise in his first season, during which he inspired the team to a third-place finish in the Premier League and two cup finals. The standoff, meanwhile, continues as Sancho still has not made an attempt to get back into the team, actions that could end up hurting his career in the long run if he isn't careful.
Will other clubs be put off?
With youth on his side, Sancho is good enough to still enjoy a great career, but he is at risk of putting clubs off him despite his potential. Coaches, players and supporters alike in this digital age pay attention to most news stories relating to the world's biggest clubs, and right now they'll be reading he isn't willing to apologise, even if he doesn't necessarily mean it, so can get back to playing football! For many, football is everything. Sancho, though, knows exactly what his path to getting back on to the field with United looks like, yet he is actively choosing to go down a different road. This, added to the stories about his poor timekeeping and application on the training ground, will unfortunately form part of his reputation and it'll be difficult for him to shrug it off as he gets older. Hopefully, Sancho's able to find his way as he experiences the trials and tribulations of being a professional footballer, but it's looking increasingly unlikely he'll be at Old Trafford for too much longer.
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