Former England international Darren Bent has claimed Jadon Sancho does not want to play for Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United anymore.
Sancho and Ten Hag had an indirect public fallout after the Red Devils’ 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday, September 3. Ten Hag dropped Sancho from his squad for the trip to the Emirates Stadium, saying the Englishman’s performance in training was not good enough. Shortly after Ten Hag’s press conference, Sancho took to social media, urging fans not to listen to the claims and suggesting that he was not dropped due to sporting reasons.
Bent Believes Sancho Wants To Leave Manchester United
Former English striker Bent recently went on talkSPORT to analyze the Sancho-Ten Hag fallout. He said that Sancho would not have bashed the Dutch manager on a public forum if had any intention of continuing at Old Trafford.
Bent said:
“If he had the intention of staying at Manchester United, of wanting to stay at the club, or had a burning desire to stay, you do it in-house.
“You go to the manager’s office and you say, ‘look, I don’t really like what you did there. If my training standards are not good enough, then just tell me‘.”
He added:
“I’m sure he’s told him before and then we will try and deal with it. But the fact he went public tells me he wants out of there. He’s had enough.
“Maybe the challenge is too big for him, which is a shame because he’s got a lot of ability, he’s got talent. Maybe the Premier League is too quick for him.”
Sancho Has Been Underwhelming At Old Trafford
Manchester United splurged a sizable £73 million fee ($91.15 million) to sign Sancho from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2021. The England international has not managed to justify his sky-high price tag over the last couple of seasons, only impressing in bits and pieces.
Since his transfer, Sancho has played 82 matches for the Old Trafford outfit in all competitions, scoring 12 times and providing six assists. Sancho’s contract with the club expires in June 2026.
According to sources, Saudi club Al-Ittihad wanted to sign Sancho before the Saudi Deadline Day on September 7. However, they could not match United’s asking price for the 23-year-old.