Jadon Sancho ‘refusing to back down’ as bitter Erik ten Hag row escalates

Jadon Sancho is flatly refusing to apologise to Erik ten Hag over his social media outburst earlier this month, according to reports. The 23-year-old hit out at his manager following Manchester United’s defeat to Arsenal by accusing the Dutchman of lying over the reasons for his absence from the squad.

Sancho is now being forced to train away from the main first-team group at Carrington, with Ten Hag unwilling to let him back into the side until he makes a private apology. However, it has been reported by The Telegraph that Sancho is ‘refusing to back down’, which suggests that it could still be a while before the saga is resolved.

It is said that Sancho believes Ten Hag has not treated him the same way as his United team-mates and feels aggrieved by the current situation. This is said to be among the reasons why he insisted that he was being made a ‘scapegoat’ in a lengthy post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Sancho deleted the post earlier this week after pinning it to the top of his profile for several days, which came as a hint that progress was being made behind the scenes. However, it seems as though the matter is not yet close to being resolved as far as the Red Devils are concerned.

The former Borussia Dortmund man is also thought to be unhappy that Ten Hag went public with his grievances in the first place. He is said to be particularly frustrated that his mental health struggles last season were brought up without prior permission.

Ten Hag, meanwhile, is yet to speak publicly on the matter since his initial comments in the aftermath of United’s defeat to Arsenal. He is likely to be quizzed on the topic in his press conference on Friday before the Red Devils face Brighton at Old Trafford the following afternoon.

It remains to be seen whether there will be a way back for Sancho, with no end in sight to the ongoing stand-off between himself and Ten Hag at United. His future with the Red Devils appears to be highly uncertain, with his manager thought to be feeling badly let down after giving him time off to work on his physical and mental wellbeing last season.

The Red Devils were reportedly willing to listen to offers for Sancho during the summer, but no serious bids were forthcoming and he ended up staying in Manchester. Sancho was linked with a move to Saudi Arabia during the final days of the window but nothing came to fruition and he was subsequently named in United’s final 25-man Premier League squad.