Erik ten Hag insists Manchester United need players with ‘personalities’ as he aims a dig at Jadon Sancho following his departure.
Social media was rife with suggestions that Manchester United and Erik ten Hag might have been wrong about Jadon Sancho, who made his second debut for Borussia Dortmund. The winger assisted a goal after coming off the bench, which began the suggestions on the web.
For many fans, Sancho’s loan move to Dortmund was necessary for the club, and those supporters are happy to see the back of the saga. The 23-year-old Manchester United outcast and Ten Hag had a fallout after the winger’s comments over the manager’s reasoning for keeping him out of the Arsenal game earlier in the season.
The pair have not been on talking terms since with Sancho banished from first-team activity at Carrington. Hence, a move away from Manchester United became more and more likely for the winger to achieve in January, and now he’s back with his former side in Germany.
Ten Hag had explained his strict stance earlier when the Sancho and Antony debacles took place simultaneously. The Manchester United boss, through his comments on The Telegraph, reiterated some principle rules that matter for him and insisted the club need players with ‘personalities’, which seemed like a dig at Sancho.
Ten Hag said, “It’s not about discipline. “It’s about normal behaviour. That is what you can expect from a top professional.”
“If you want to perform [as a club], you need hungry players. It would help if you had players with personalities who are hungry to fight for the badge and fight for this club. And they need to do this in a team.”
“We have to understand and acknowledge we have to do it together. We have to be on the same page and in the same boat. We have to perform together.”
As things stand, the Ten Hag-Sancho saga might resume in the summer when the winger might return to the club if Dortmund cannot make a permanent offer. There’s no buy option in the loan deal, which could see the winger even continue at Old Trafford in the future.
Without a buy option, Manchester United showed they might still rate the £73 million attacker. What transpires next remains everyone’s guess, but as things stand, Sancho will hope to keep performing well at Dortmund and hope his future resolves amicably.
