“The former Borussia Dortmund player has been isolated from the team for over a month now, following his public criticism of Erik ten Hag for excluding him from the squad to face Arsenal last month. Ten Hag had cited Sancho’s subpar training performances as the reason for his omission, but the winger disputed this claim and instead asserted that he was unfairly made a ‘scapegoat’ in a significant social media statement. Although the post has been deleted, Sancho remains sidelined, reportedly for his refusal to apologize to Ten Hag, and he is allegedly barred from accessing first-team facilities.
Sancho was once again absent from the squad in the 2-1 victory over Brentford on Saturday, and Ten Hag provided a brief response when asked about the Englishman’s situation. While Sancho is contracted to Old Trafford for three more seasons, there is no resolution in sight, making a departure in 2024 increasingly likely for the 23-year-old.
A return to Dortmund, where he contributed to 114 goals in 137 matches, has been suggested. Sancho is reportedly interested in returning to Signal Iduna Park in January. However, Dortmund is said to have reservations about re-signing him due to concerns about his punctuality and sleep schedule, but an alternative escape route may be in the works.
According to The Sun, Italian giants Juventus are interested in bringing the 23-year-old to Serie A midway through the season and may offer Manchester United £60 million to secure his permanent transfer next summer. There is a condition, however, as the report suggests that Juventus would require Manchester United to cover half of Sancho’s £350,000-per-week wages while he plays under Massimiliano Allegri in Turin. Nevertheless, Juventus is optimistic about reaching an agreement on these terms, given Manchester United’s desire to offload the player, who is eager to revive his career in Serie A.
Manchester United secured Sancho’s signature in a heated battle in 2021, paying £73 million for the Englishman, but he has registered only 12 goals and six assists in 82 matches. The former Manchester City youth spent a significant amount of time away from the first team last season to address physical and mental challenges and had failed to score or assist in three Premier League games this season before being dropped.
In addition to Sancho’s absence, Manchester United also coped without Antony for a few weeks as the Brazilian faced allegations of domestic violence from three women, which he denied. However, Antony has returned to the squad after cooperating with police questioning and came off the bench as a second-half substitute in Saturday’s dramatic win over Brentford, where Scott McTominay scored two injury-time goals to overturn Mathias Jensen’s opener.”