Jadon Sancho once shook up the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund. He was never able to build on that at Manchester United. Now the attacker is publicly arguing with his coach.
Six years ago, an Englishman of only 17 years old joined Borussia Dortmund for a total of more than 20 million euros and then stirred up the Bundesliga for four years. We are talking about Jadon Sancho, who moved to the Ruhr region from Manchester City in 2017 and matured into an absolute top talent.
Sancho made 137 appearances for the BVB professionals until 2021 and collected an impressive 114 scorer points (50 goals, 64 assists). Two years ago, he made the 85-million-euro switch back to Manchester – this time, however, to United on the other side of the city. But after the steep rise, things went steadily downhill.
Only shortly after his transfer, Sancho made his last appearance for the English national team, scoring two goals in the 5-0 win over Andorra, but also turning up late for a team meeting. Problems with attitude and discipline run through the 23-year-old’s career.
There were already problems at Dortmund
Already at BVB, Lucien Favre had the Englishman sulking on the bench in the 2019 Champions League against FC Barcelona because, according to Bild, he was late for a meeting. He was also one of the BVB professionals fined by the DFL during the Corona pandemic for a visit to the hairdresser.
Even then, leading player Emre Can told Sky that Sancho had to “be smarter” and “grow up”. “You have to guide Jadon a little bit.”
Physical and mental problems – individual training in the Netherlands
At Manchester United, coach Erik ten Hag also initially focused on getting the winger on the right track after he took over. During the 2022 World Cup, the coach sent Sancho to the Netherlands for eight weeks, where he was to work on his physical and mental problems away from all attention.
A measure that initially seemed to bring success. From February onwards, Sancho played regularly for the Red Devils, was often in the starting eleven and contributed four goals and two assists in the second half of the season. However, the former shooting star was still unable to match his performances in Dortmund.
Sancho missing against Arsenal – and defends himself against ten Hag’s justification
After three appearances from the bench, Sancho is once again becoming a problem for ten Hag this season. For the top match against Arsenal FC, the coach removed the attacker from the squad and publicly justified this at the press conference with the training performance. “At Manchester United you have to reach a certain level every day and we can make decisions in attack, so he was not selected for this game. “
I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time, which isn’t fair!
Jadon Sancho
This time, however, Sancho didn’t just let the reasoning stand. Addressing the public via social media, he stated, “Please don’t believe everything you read. I will not let people say things that are completely untrue. I have done very well in training this week. I believe there are other reasons for this situation which I will not go into. I have been a scapegoat for a long time, which is not fair!”
Continuing, Sancho stated, “All I want is to play football with a smile on my face and help my team. I respect all the decisions of the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and I am grateful to do that. I know it’s a challenge every week. I will keep fighting for this crest no matter what!”
Whether Sancho will get the chance, however, is still unclear. After the public airing of the controversy, the Englishman faces at least an internal club punishment. Already in the summer, the Red Devils were quite willing to listen to offers for Sancho, but in the end he stayed – at least for the time being.