In an attempt to get Jadon Sancho back to Old Trafford for the upcoming campaign, MANCHESTER UNITED has visited with him.
Man Utd have met with Jadon Sancho over his return to the club
Sancho was shipped out to Borussia Dortmund after a fallout with Erik ten Hag
But Ten Hag insists the meetings are to monitor his performances
After an argument with Erik ten Hag, the £73 million acquisition was sent on loan back to Borussia Dortmund, his former team.
However, the manager claims that the winger and United personnel have met and that they have been in Germany watching his games.
“We are close in that process,” stated Ten Hag. We are going to the games that Jadon performed at.
“We spoke with him after our visit, and we plan to continue this process.”
There have been meetings with Matt Hargreaves, the director of player negotiations, and John Murtough, the now-departed director of football.
After being benched for the away loss against Arsenal in September of last year, Sancho and Ten Hag had a falling out.
The supervisor then justified his absence by citing his unprofessional training attitude.
Later, the player effectively called his manager a liar in a social media post.
He removed that message, but he would not say sorry to Ten Hag for what he did.
Before being granted permission to go on loan, he was expelled from the first team and forced to train alone and with the academy players.
His performances at Dortmund, where he first earned his reputation, have since been at odds with his poor run at United, including last week’s 1-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg victory over PSG.
Now that the season is over, Ten Hag hopes to get past their disagreements.
“There was a conflict, so let us finish the season first. Stay away from this issue; it is not important right now,” he stated.
“He has the return of the semi-final, in the league it is not going that well for them and we have four important games in the league and the FA Cup final and then we will see.”
It is obvious that Ten Hag is anticipating the composition of his team for the upcoming season and believes he will remain in charge.
He admits he needs greater depth after being left exposed by a raft of injuries this season.
“That is one of the issues in building the squad,” he stated. We need to assemble a team that is deeper and better.
There is a certain type of player he is looking for, as well.
He said: “I think every manager wants winning attitudes.
“Great mentality big personalities to perform under stress is what every manager is looking for. In this club it is extremely important to perform under stress.”
A player he most definitely wants to keep is captain Bruno Fernandes who hinted in an interview last week that he will consider his future at United after this summer’s Euros.
He said: “That was taken out of context. I know he is Manchester United and he is very happy to be here.”
Ten Hag says his skipper is an example to the other players particularly those not prepared to play through the pain barrier.
He said: “Bruno is a real fighter. Last year for instance when we played Brighton in the FA Cup semi final, he played with an ankle that was so thick, unbelievable,
“Bruno is a very good example for other players.”
United travel to take on Crystal Palace tonight without Harry Maguire.
He has sustained a muscle injury that will keep him out of the last three league games but could make the FA Cup Final and the England international will be ok for the Euros.