Ex-Man Utd star urges Jadon Sancho to follow his example in Roy Keane incident

18 October 2023 , 18:10

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Ex-Man Utd star urges Jadon Sancho to follow his example in Roy Keane incident

Jadon Sancho has been urged to become the fittest player at Manchester United and change Erik ten Hag's mind.

The £73million winger hasn't trained with or played for United's first team since the beginning of September, having called out Ten Hag on social media after the Red Devils boss publicly criticised his performances in training. Sancho, 23, countered Ten Hag's claims, suggesting that there was another reason behind the decision to drop him from United's squad ahead of their Premier League trip to Arsenal last month.

As a result, the England international has been made to stay away from the first-team group until he apologises to Ten Hag, and in the meantime will work on an individual training programme amid links of a move to Barcelona, Juventus and former club Borussia Dortmund. Ex-Red Devils wide man Kieran Richardson - a graduate of the club's academy who made 41 appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson - has advised Sancho to focus on his fitness, just like he did when at Sunderland while United legend Roy Keane was in charge.

Richardson, who's now 38 and enjoyed five years in the top flight with Sunderland, exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone: "If I'm Jadon Sancho, I'm going to try and become the fittest guy in my team. When you become the fittest player in your team, it gives you so much more confidence.

"When I watch him play, he'll go past someone, but then he doesn't have that power to keep going, and I think he needs to work on that. Obviously, he might have something going on in his mind at the moment; he's got a lot going on with the manager, off-the-field stuff.

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"It's a hard one for him. I always think about my own experience as a player. When I signed for Sunderland, I was out for six months with a fractured spine. I remember being in the manager's office, and I told Roy that I was going to be the fittest player in that club.

Kieran Richardson wanted to seriously impress Roy Keane (Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

Have your say! Should Jadon Sancho leave Manchester United in January? Give us your stance in the comments section.

"I didn't have a summer, I just hired a personal trainer - nothing to do with football - just to work on my fitness. Sharpness, sprinting, running up hills, being able to cover 14,000 km a game. These are the things you can control; becoming the fittest guy at the club. You might not be able to be the best player at the club, but if you want it bad enough, you can become the fittest."

Nathan Ridley