Ten Hag puts forward reason behind Sancho struggles, as Man Utd boss confirms absence will continue

Erik ten Hag shed light on why Jadon Sancho has been training alone during the World Cup, and hinted why his winger has struggled this season after confirming his absence will continue beyond Man Utd’s next fixture.

Sancho, 22, arrived with high expectations in 2021. The England international was the subject of a long courtship from Manchester United who finally convinced Borussia Dortmund to sever ties for around £73m.

Sancho struggled to adapt to the tougher Premier League in his first season at Old Trafford. However, he showed signs he’d begin to justify the price tag over the summer.

Indeed, Sancho was among United’s stand-outs during pre-season. Both he and Anthony Martial impressed, especially on the Australian leg of their tour.

Sancho brought that form into the new campaign, scoring against Liverpool and Leicester and impressing against Arsenal. However, his form in the run-up to the World Cup tanked before missing a series of matches in November through illness.

Upon domestic football giving way to matters in Qatar, Sancho has been training away from the rest of the United group.

He’s worked with Dutch coaches in the Netherlands at Ten Hag’s behest, and the Man Utd boss has now shed light on exactly what’s gone wrong and why for the forward.

“Sometimes there are circumstances with fitness and mood” – Ten Hag

Speaking to journalists in Jerez, Ten Hag stressed Sancho is “not fit enough” to be part of United’s warm-weather training camp in Spain.

The Dutchman refused to put a timeframe on when Sancho will return, though did confirm he won’t be back in time for United’s first fixture after the World Cup – an EFL Cup Fourth Round tie v Burnley on Wednesday, December 21.

“He’s not fit enough to be here,” said Ten Hag (via the Manchester Evening News).

“First we didn’t see him the last games for United. So he wasn’t in the right status, in the right fitness state, so now he’s on an individual programme and we want him to finish that programme and hopefully, we see him back soon.

“He’s not here, we want to bring him back as quickly as possible but I can’t give a prognosis of when that will be. I have had several talks with Jadon. I don’t think he will be back next week, no.

“Sometimes there are circumstances with fitness and mood. Now he’s on a physical programme and our aim is to get him back as quickly as possible.”

What caused Sancho decline?

Hinting at a potential reason behind Sancho’s drop in form mid-way through the season, Ten Hag seemed to point to the player’s England snub.

Sancho was involved in many of Gareth Southgate’s England squads since moving to United, though was overlooked for two Nations League clashes at the end of September. At that point, the writing was on the wall regarding his World Cup prospects.

Sancho’s displays noticeably dipped straight after the mini break, and Ten Hag appeared to suggest Sancho has struggled both physically and mentally since that snub.

“He was good (during pre-season) but also when the league started he played some good games like Liverpool, Leicester and Arsenal,” Ten Hag added.

“After we got a drop of level and what happens sometimes you don’t know why or what is causing it.

“That is what we’re doing now, trying to research and now we try to get him back there. It’s a combination of physical but also mentally.

“Most of the time it (the drop in form) comes slowly. On the [pre-season] tour, he played really well, the start of the league he played really well, after the [Nations League] break his performance was lower.

“First, you observe but then also the stats back it up and in the start of the season he had goals and assists and his key moments and key actions and it became less and less.

“I think there’s huge competition in England. When I see the frontline, the manager really has choices there. Even in the World Cup, for him every game is difficult who to start because there’s so much talent in the offensive line and there’s big competition now.

“When you don’t show it week by week you can fall out of the squad which is what happened.”

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