Roy Keane points finger at Man Utd dressing room over Jadon Sancho situation

27 September 2023 , 09:30

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Roy Keane points finger at Man Utd dressing room over Jadon Sancho situation

Roy Keane has urged the leaders in Manchester United's dressing room to resolve Erik ten Hag's spat with Jadon Sancho.

As exclusively revealed by Mirror Football, Sancho has been banned from all first-team facilities at United's Carrington training ground after being axed by Ten Hag. The England international, 23, was dropped earlier this month for his performances in training.

Ten Hag told reporters as such after United's 3-1 loss to Arsenal, but Sancho reacted by disputing his manager's claim on X, the website formerly known as Twitter. The former Borussia Dortmund star claimed he has been a "scapegoat for a long time".

Ten Hag was furious with Sancho's public response and it's unclear whether he will play for United again. Ex-midfielder Keane has backed the Red Devils boss by insisting he would be "ashamed" if his performances in training were criticised.

Keane was asked for his opinion on the matter on the latest episode of The Overlap. He said: "I would be ashamed if a manager said I wasn't working hard.

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"You would hope the dressing room would sort that out. We have all worked with players who drag their heels in training, or might be thinking of a move. A good strong team wouldn't tolerate that, they wouldn't let a player slack off."

Keane's fellow pundit Jamie Carragher also sided with Ten Hag. He said: "I am always with the manager on this one. We praise other managers being strong with players, being ruthless and dealing with situations.

Sancho has been banished by Erik ten Hag (Manchester United via Getty Images)

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"I am sick of players and people coming out around them and saying they can't be criticised. We all know he hasn't lit Old Trafford up. Go and put some performances in. He has been awful, really really poor. He has done nothing at Manchester United."

Sancho impressed during his time at Dortmund, scoring 38 goals and providing 51 assists in 104 Bundesliga games. That persuaded United to pay £73million for his services in July 2021, but he's failed to replicate that form in the Premier League. He's scored just nine goals and provided only four assists in 58 outings in England's first tier.

Gary Neville, meanwhile, is undecided on the Sancho debate. He said: "I am a little bit torn. It is very important for a manager to have discipline and control. But what is niggling me is that only six months ago, he was given a couple of months off for mental health issues. Now he has this very public spat and is training with the academy."

Tom Blow