Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag and winger Jadon Sancho
Erik ten Hag’s attempts to offload Jadon Sancho in January have been shut down by a third team in the space of three days, after Borussia Dortmund dismissed speculation that a swap deal was on the cards with Manchester United.
The 23-year-old winger has been ostracized by Ten Hag after a very public falling out with the Manchester United boss following their 3-1 defeat at Arsenal in early September. With the Dutchman leaving Sancho out of his squad that day, the player accused his manager of not being honest over his admission and claimed he was being scapegoated.
And with the two men still at loggerheads and with Sancho failing to offer the public apology Ten Hag is demanding, Sancho has been forced to train on his own, having also been barred from using all first-team facilities, including the player’s canteen.
That row appears, however, to have had a pretty dire effect on the club as a whole, with Ten Hag’s treatment of Sancho seemingly dividing the squad. And with results falling massively below expectations this season – United have lost 12 of the 24 matches they have appeared in this season and have crashed out of the Champions League finishing bottom of Group A – the pressure dial has very firmly been cranked up on Ten Hag.
However, despite the rising speculation that the axe is hanging over Ten Hag – and on Thursday it was astonishingly claimed that the United boss may already have a massive Bundesliga job lined up already – there is a school of thought that claims the Dutchman will be afforded time to turn the tide around.
Sancho swap deal with Borussia Dortmund ruled out
And with Gary Neville giving his backing to Ten Hag – claiming that until issues above his head are sorted out, it doesn’t matter who is in charge – it’s suggested his position as manager will not be quite as perilous as some suggest.
That situation, of course, could change dramatically should United suffer another heavy defeat at Anfield on Sunday.
As a result, it does appear more likely that Sancho will be the one to go and amid claims he is one of five stars up for sale as part of a massive £269m clearout.
However, United plans to offload the 23-times capped England winger are perhaps not going as smoothly as expected after a would-be swap deal with Barcelona was ruled out earlier in the week.
Since then Bayern Munich have also distanced themselves from reported interest in the winger too, narrowing down his list of potential destinations.
One side, though, that has been persistently linked is Borussia Dortmund, the side Sancho excelled for earlier in his career.
Indeed, a return to the Westfalenstadion is widely reported to be the winger’s preferred pick if he is to indeed leave Old Trafford.
Buying the player outright would prove tricky for BVB, though reports last week claimed a blockbuster swap deal involving Donyell Malen and Sancho was up for discussion between the two clubs.
The wall of silence that has since met that claim had indicated something may well be on the cards.
However, Dortmund’s sporting director Sebastian Kehl has now responded and has put to bed these particular rumours.
“At the moment there is no exchange deal discussed or any interest in any player,” he told DAZN.
Which club next for Jadon Sancho?
Sancho spent four years with Dortmund before sealing a £73m move to Old Trafford in 2021 after a long two-year chase by United.
His form since the move, however, has really not gone to plan.
Sancho managed a hugely-impressive 50 goals and 63 assists for BVB from the 137 appearances he made for the German giants, prompting United to shell out one of the biggest fees in their history.
However, since the move, he has failed to deliver on a consistent basis, managing just 18 goal involvements in 82 games.
Whether that is the end for him at United remains to be seen, though Ten Hag did offer the player something of a small olive branch when questioned about his future just last week.
“What will happen there, he knows what he has to do, if he wants to return it is up to him,” Ten Hag stated.
“It is about a culture and every player has to match certain standards and it was about that.”
However, with Dortmund now seemingly joining Barcelona and Bayern Munich in closing their doors on him, that invitation to apologise to Ten Hag may soon become the best option for the player going forwards.
He might just hope the axe falls on Ten Hag and he could land another chance under a would-be successor. But as it stands, his future remains very much a major sticking point and a big problem to solve for United.
