Incoming Man Utd owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe issues Erik ten Hag with first demand
Sir Jim Ratcliffe plans to meet Erik ten Hag and urge him to end his stand-off with Jadon Sancho once he takes control of Manchester United.
Ratcliffe is close to sealing a £1.3billion deal to buy a 25 per cent stake in United, with the process expected to accelerate during the current international break. The deal will see the INEOS billionaire takeover sporting control from the Glazer family – and Ratcliffe has already identified one of his priorities.
Sancho cost United £73m in 2021 but has now been ostracised from the first-team set-up by Ten Hag. The 23-year-old winger has not played since August 26 having fallen out with his manager after being left out of the squad for the 3-1 defeat by Arsenal on September 3 due to a poor level in training.
He later accused Ten Hag of spreading “completely untrue” information and of making him a “scapegoat”. The two held talks, and although he deleted his social media post, Sancho has been forced to train by himself because he refuses to apologise to the Dutchman. They have barely spoken since.
Sancho could leave United in the January transfer window – and Ratcliffe is thought to be on-board with the idea – but he still wants Ten Hag to clear the air in the meantime. The Daily Star reports that the incoming owner believes Ten Hag has damaged one of the club’s assets and would therefore like them to settle their differences.
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The feud has gone on for so long that there appears to be little chance of Sancho being reintegrated into the team at Old Trafford. But Ratcliffe is looking at the situation from a business perspective which says isolating someone on a contract worth £250,000-a-week which doesn’t expire until June 2026 isn’t a good use of money. He knows that the longer he remains on the sidelines, the more his transfer value will plummet.
Erik ten Hag has barely spoken to Jadon Sancho recently (Manchester United via Getty Images) HAVE YOUR SAY! What do you make of the Jadon Sancho situation? Comment below.
United received some interest from the Saudi Professional League in Sancho at the end of the summer transfer window, but the winger rejected the chance to move to the Middle East. He has since been tentatively linked to his former side Borussia Dortmund, but his options are limited by his huge contract with United. A loan deal is more likely in the New Year, with Juventus said to be monitoring the situation.
Ratcliffe has previously been openly critical of United’s transfer policy and wants to overhaul the recruitment department. He said United invested “dumb money” by spending £52m on midfielder Fred in 2018 and reportedly openly criticised the £60m signing of Casemiro during a face-to-face meeting with United executives earlier this year.
Speaking to The Times in 2019, Ratcliffe slammed United’s recruitment record. "[INEOS] never wants to be the dumb money in town, never, never,” he said. “[United] haven't got the manager selection right, haven't bought well. They have been the dumb money, which you see with players like Fred.”
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