Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho has released a statement distancing himself from comments made by Erik ten Hag that he was not up to the level required during training, and that was the reason for his exclusion from the squad.
Sancho was not part of United’s travelling party that made the trip to London to face Arsenal at the Emirates.
After the 3-1 defeat, Ten Hag was questioned by reporters about why Sancho did not feature.
The United boss explained that the Englishman did not properly apply himself during training and so the decision was taken to leave him out.
Ten Hag confirmed that he deliberately left Sancho at home.
The United star has now responded.
The 23-year-old’s statement read, “Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue. I have conducted myself in training very well this week.”
“I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t get into, I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair!”
Sancho added, “All I want to do is to play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team.”
“I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge. I will continue to play for this badge no matter what!”
— Jadon Sancho (@Sanchooo10) September 3, 2023
Due to the fact that Sancho was not called up by Gareth Southgate for England national team duty during the upcoming international break, he will be in the crop of players who will remain at Carrington working under Ten Hag.
The exact nature of the disconnect between player and his manager remains unknown at this time.