Man Utd's 'promise to Jadon Sancho' that Erik ten Hag was forced to break
Manchester United broke their alleged promise to Jadon Sancho to build a team around him - with the winger now attempting to revive his career with Borussia Dortmund.
The Englishman is currently in the middle of a six-month loan stint with his former club. It is the latest chapter in what has been a difficult few years for Sancho.
His move back to Dortmund comes after a very public falling out with Red Devils' boss Erik ten Hag after he failed to hit the heights expected of him at Old Trafford following a £73million move in July 2021.
Man United had long been suitors of the wideman before they signed him and reportedly made some lofty promises to tempt him to the club. According to The Athletic, the Red Devils promised Sancho they'd build a team around him, while then-boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keen to fulfil this promise.
Solskjaer said: "Yes, I wanted to sign him. Manchester United will never sign a player the manager doesn't want. That's not the case everywhere. Jadon was put up as the No.1 target for the right-wing by the scouts and when you look at his talent, I could see why."
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However, it never quite worked out for Sancho. Of his 82 appearances for the Red Devils, only 56 have been starts. Attempting to explain why Sancho has not met expectations, Solskjaer added: "Unfortunately, it has not worked out. When he arrived, he had to go to hospital and that was a setback as he couldn’t start the first games.
"He's immensely talented and we haven't seen the best of him. I hope we do, but he prefers to play left wing… where Marcus (Rashford) plays."
Jadon Sancho was expected to become a key player for Man United after his £73m move (Getty Images)Does Jadon Sancho have a future at Man United? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Since then, his public spat with Ten Hag has seen Sancho fall out of contention entirely at Old Trafford, with the Dutchman making it clear he wasn't going to build his team around the winger. Sancho was subsequently exiled for the majority of the first half of the campaign, leading to his loan move to Dortmund.
Speaking at the time, Ten Hag suggested that Sancho has been a problematic figure practically since his arrival. He said: “He's now at Dortmund. So after he was signed, one year before [I was here], and there were issues.
“We have had issues all the way through, and so you can make out his stay at Manchester United so far is not a success. So now he is going back to Borussia Dortmund, so I wish him the best of luck. I hope, we all hope he is doing well there, he will be successful. Again, we will see what is going to happen.”
Sancho’s return to Dortmund has been bright. He has started two out of the three matches he has been available for and already has two assists to his name - a mark of how much trust he has earned at the Signal Iduna Park, something that he has not been afforded at Man United.
For the time being, Sancho will be aiming to continue his revival and potentially earn a permanent move back to Germany. Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl revealed that they were keen to slot an option to buy the winger into the deal.
“Unfortunately for both players, neither option was realistic. If you know what we got for Jadon Sancho two-and-a-half years ago, then you know also that it might not be very, very difficult,” he revealed. “We naturally advocated for an option on him – and also with Ian [Maatsen] – but the negotiating position was not such that we could implement it and so we will accept it for now.”
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