07 September 2023 , 15:05
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Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq have reportedly failed in their bid to sign Jadon Sancho from Manchester United.
The future of the forward suddenly looked up in the air on Sunday after he was axed from the United squad that were beaten 3-1 at Arsenal, despite featuring in their first three Premier League games. And asked to explain his selection afterwards, Ten Hag issued a brutal response.
"We did not select Jadon because of his performances in training," he said in his post-match press conference. "You have to reach a certain level every day at Manchester United and we can make choices in the front line. So for this game he was not selected."
A clearly upset Sancho responded via social media, insisting he had trained well and implying he had been axed for alternative reasons. He also accused his manager of making him a 'scapegoat' for United's stuttering start.
The silence from both parties since the weekend has been deafening, despite reports that the Ex-Borussia Dortmund man was set for showdown talks with the Dutch boss. And the possibility of the England star leaving the club this week then became a realistic one, with the transfer window in Saudi Arabia not closing until 10pm Thursday night.
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But according to the Daily Mail, the club were unsuccessful in their bid to sign Sancho. It has been reported that the former City youngster was interested in making the move, with the two clubs in discussions.
However the move feel through after United reportedly included an obligation to buy Sancho for £50million once the loan spell came to an end. It's understood that the Saudi club were not willing to agree to those terms.
Al-Ettifaq's coach Steven Gerrard could yet sign another Premier League star (AFP via Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY! Would Saudi Arabia be a good move for Jadon Sancho? Comment below.
Al-Ettifaq are not one of the four state-backed clubs in the Saudi Pro League, but have still started impressively under Gerrard, taking 10 points from their opening five league games..
After an impressive showing in the delayed Euro 2020 tournament, Sancho has since lost his place in the England set-up following his United move. He missed the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and has failed to fight his way back into Gareth Southgate's plans for the upcoming games with Ukraine and Scotland.