05 September 2023 , 14:23
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Chelsea considered making a move for out-of-favour Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho this summer, but ultimately decided to sign Cole Palmer from Manchester City instead.
Sancho has struggled to make much of an impact at Old Trafford since joining United from Boussia Dortmund two years ago in a bumper £73m deal. The 23-year-old has scored 12 goals and provided six assists for United in 82 appearances across all competitions, having boasted a prolific record of 114 goal contributions in 137 games for Dortmund.
Things appear to have come to a head now though, with Sancho not even making the squad for United's 3-1 loss to Arsenal at the weekend having previously made appearances off the bench in their first three Premier League games this season.
And the Daily Mail are now reporting that Chelsea decided against trying to sign Sancho for a cut-price fee this summer as they were 'concerned about his mindset'. As a result, they forked out £42.5m to sign Palmer instead.
Asked to explain Sancho's absence, Ten Hag said: "On his performance on training we didn't select him. You have to reach the level every day at Manchester United. You can make choices in the front line, so in this game he wasn't selected."
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Sancho then hit back at Ten Hag's comments, branding them "completely untrue" in a statement on social media. He said: "Please don't believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue.
"I have conducted myself in training very well this week. I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won't go into, I have been a scapegoat for a long time which isn't fair! All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team.
Sancho hit back at manager Erik ten Hag on social media (PA)"I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge. I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!"
Ten Hag is said to have been left bitterly disappointed by Sancho's statement and it remains to be seen exactly what the future holds for the winger, who has been warned his time at United could well be up.
The 21-year-old was viewed as one of City's brightest young talents and formed part of the England squad that won the under-21 Euros earlier this summer. He made four goal contributions during the tournament, most notably assisting Curtis Jones' winner against Spain in the final.