Jadon Sancho's current mood is very cheerful, a stark contrast to the situation in September 2023. At that time, the English forward criticized coach Erik ten Hag in a shocking social media post, leading to his exclusion from the first team. After 4 months of exile, Sancho returned to his old club Dortmund on loan and performed impressively.
However, Sancho is now back at Old Trafford. Earlier this month, the 24-year-old had talks to reconcile with Ten Hag and joined Man United on their tour in the USA.
According to the English media, Sancho was reintegrated with Man United after "reflecting on past issues" and Ten Hag also agreed to end the conflict. However, it is still unclear whether the forward born in 2000 has apologized to Ten Hag or if this is just a "forced" softening between the two sides.
When asked about the first team personnel situation, Ten Hag simply replied: "We need good players and Sancho is such a player".
Of course, the Dutch strategist is not wrong, as evidenced by Sancho's performance in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final last season. But it is still unclear whether Sancho can bring similar form back to Old Trafford.
So far, Sancho's 3-year stint at Old Trafford has been a major disappointment. With a price tag of £73 million and after 58 appearances, there is very little evidence to suggest that the English forward deserves the trust from Man United. And one of the reasons could be Sancho's position.
At the time of planning to recruit Sancho, the "Red Devils" wanted to use this forward on the right wing. That was also the position that had troubled Old Trafford for many years. Ironically, Sancho prefers to play on the left wing, where Marcus Rashford is already in charge.
Over time, this issue was not resolved and even worsened. Rashford still wants to play on the left wing, just like Alejandro Garnacho. While the young Argentine star is still on vacation after Copa America 2024, Sancho and Rashford are trying to gain the trust of Ten Hag.
In the last 2 training sessions of Man United led by assistant coach Rene Hake, Rashford and Sancho were in different teams and both played as left-wing forwards.
Rashford was chosen to start in the friendly match against Arsenal and assisted Rasmus Hojlund to score. Meanwhile, Sancho, after replacing Rashford, did not leave much of an impression other than successfully taking a penalty.
Man United had put Sancho up for sale before bringing him back to the first team and now, the situation remains the same. There is an opinion that Man United only wants Sancho to stay fit and train fully to sell him at the highest possible price.
The problem is that Man United's valuation of around £40 million has so far deterred most of Sancho's suitors, including Paris St Germain and Juventus. As for Dortmund, they only want to continue borrowing Sancho and of course, the "Red Devils" do not agree.
Whether Man United's stance will change as Sancho's contract expiration date approaches remains to be seen. And that could be determined by how long the "truce" with Ten Hag lasts.
Perhaps, the ideal outcome for Man United is for the rift to be healed and for Sancho to start showing consistent form.
