When Erik ten Hag was appointed as Manchester United manager, he had a lot of pending issues to deal with.
While getting the recruitment right was very important, the Dutchman also needed to get his underperforming stars back in their groove.
And for the most part, the former Ajax boss has done his duty tremendously well.
Marcus Rashford is playing like a man reborn while Diogo Dalot has finally become the player Jose Mourinho had envisioned when he had decided to bring him to Old Trafford.
Anthony Martial, who was on the verge of leaving, has found a new lease of life in Manchester and the Dutch boss’ man-management seemed to have rubbed off on Jadon Sancho as well.
Sancho’s struggles this season
The former Borussia Dortmund man became the joint top-scorer in pre-season and started off the season by scoring crucial goals against arch-rivals Liverpool and Leicester City.
But a dip in form occurred, and suddenly the fearless winger started showing signs of nervousness when presented withg the ball at his feet.
Too afraid to take on his man and constantly passing backwards to his full-back, these were not the traits that forced United to fork out €85 million for his services back in 2021.
Jadon Sancho has returned to Man Utd as revealed by Erik ten Hag: “Jadon is back in Manchester. He will now start individual training”. 🚨🔴 #MUFC @ChrisWheelerDM
“His return? The time is not now but his making good progress, we’ see when he is ready to return into the squad”. pic.twitter.com/wGYxxqny1q
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 30, 2022
And it was decided by the manager that the England international would be better served if he worked on his mental and physical fitness alone.
Club sources had also indicated that the 22-year-old took a break from social media to focus on his family and the second half of the season which the club fully supported.
Sancho missed United’s warm-weather camp in Spain to undergo his own personal training in the Netherlands with coaches recommended by Ten Hag.
Sancho back in Manchester, but still not ready to play
After working on himself, Sancho is now back in Manchester and will resume training at Carrington. But for now, it will still be a lonely exercise before he can start working with the group.
“He is back in Manchester and will start individual training,’ the United boss was quoted as saying By The Daily Mail.
“Of course, the time is coming but the time is not now. He is making progress and we will see when he is ready to return to the squad.”
Sancho has not played for United for 10 weeks and fans will be eager to see him make a comeback. Ten Hag and his coaching staff will assess him before allowing him back into the fold.
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