Man Utd chief confirms TRUTH about Jadon Sancho's Chelsea switch

Cameron Smith

• 3 Sept 2024 10:00 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth has denied rumours of another bust-up between Erik ten Hag and Jadon Sancho.

Sancho, 24, sealed a loan move to boyhood club Chelsea on Transfer Deadline Day, with the deal including an obligation-to-buy clause worth around €27 million if the Blues finish 14th or higher this season.

The Englishman famously fell out with Ten Hag last season and he was frozen out of the Man Utd first-team squad as a result. Sancho subsequently re-joined Borussia Dortmund on loan in January, before returning to Old Trafford this summer.

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After being excluded from Man Utd’s matchday squad for their opening two games of the new campaign, rumours of another bust-up between Ten Hag and Sancho surfaced online.

However, Ashworth has shut down these claims and has stated that Sancho’s exit wasn’t linked to his relationship with Ten Hag.

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What has been said?

In an interview with Sky Sports, Ashworth admitted: “I think with any player, whether it's Jadon, whether it's Scott [McTominay] or whether it's Aaron, if there's a preference that they would like to move and go to a new club and it's right for them and it's right for us, then you have to explore it.

“We felt we had enough depth in that particular position to be able to cover it, we've got four really good wide players, Jadon was a fifth, and it just enabled us to make that decision.

“If it was good for him and good for us it was something we were willing to consider.”

Ashworth was then asked if Sancho simply didn’t have a future at Man Utd. “Nothing to do with that,” he replied. “It was a decision that we made - if it's right for Jadon and it's right for us to move on.

“He wanted to explore the opportunity at Chelsea, like Scott wanted to explore the opportunity at Napoli, like Aaron wanted to explore the opportunity at West Ham.

“We're not in a position where we're kicking players out of the club.”

Sancho was one of 13 players to leave Man Utd this summer, while the Red Devils spent over €210m on Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui.