Jadon Sancho will continue to train separately away from his Manchester United teammates for the time being as he holds out on an apology. The star winger was previously left out of the club’s last match against Arsenal on September 3rd. It now appears as if Sancho will not return to normal training until he apologizes to manager Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils coach initially claimed that the English winger was removed from the squad because his training had been subpar. Sancho, however, then quickly fired back with a social media post claiming that ten Hag’s claims were untrue and that he was just a scapegoat. The 23-year-old player has since deleted the post.
Nevertheless, The Guardian is reporting that Sancho must apologize to ten Hag to return to the squad. The club confirmed on Thursday that the feud between coach and player is still ongoing. “Jadon Sancho will remain on a personal training program away from the first team group pending resolution of a squad discipline issue,” read the statement.
Ten Hag admits United asked him to be strict
Ten Hag was, of course, asked directly about Sancho during a press conference on Friday. The manager would not confirm whether or not the winger would be available for Saturday’s matchup with Brighton. However, ten Hag did say that he was told to be strict by team brass when he was hired and hinted that Sancho may be a repeat offender.
“Sometimes you have setbacks with players being injured or unavailable for other reasons,” stated ten Hag. “Our squad is very good and the players available are motivated. Strict lines is what the club asked me [to bring], because there was no good culture before last season. I had to set good standards.”
United awaits Sancho apology amid slow start to campaign
After finishing third in the Premier League last season, United has lost two of its first four matches this season. While it is still early days, the club has looked shaky in most of their fixtures so far. Nevertheless, they will try to regroup against a feisty Brighton side at the weekend. Following a tough test against the Seagulls, the Red Devils will then have to travel to Bayern Munich next week.
PHOTO: IMAGO / PA Images
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