Sancho delivers public Man Utd insult before Dortmund loan

Robin Bairner

• 10 Jan 2024 15:27 GMT
• 3 min read

Jadon Sancho will complete his move from Manchester United to Borussia Dortmund on loan imminently.

Sancho’s return to the Bundesliga side has now been confirmed by multiple sources, including Fabrizio Romano, after the deal surprisingly stalled for several days over minor details.

The England international winger departs Man Utd under a cloud. Not only has Sancho flopped at Old Trafford, returning just 12 goals and six assists in 82 matches having been signed from Dortmund for €85 million in 2021.

His behaviour with the Red Devils has been questioned for much of the last year. His inability to train properly or even be punctual for team meetings is something that has reportedly infuriated manager Erik ten Hag, who was involved in a public spat with the player back in September that led to Sancho being exiled.

After leaving the winger out of the squad to face Arsenal in a Premier League match, Sancho reacted angrily to Ten Hag’s post-match comments, taking to social media to claim he had been made a “scapegoat”.

The post was ultimately deleted, but the impact it made could not be erased. Sancho has not been seen in the Man Utd team since, with the solution this loan to Dortmund, which United hope will preserve or improve his transfer value for a summer sale.

Sancho's anger at Man Utd remains

Sancho may be out of the spotlight, but he is still in the headlines and remains visibly unhappy at Man Utd.

When Romano announced his move to Dortmund with his famous ‘Here we go!’ catchphrase in a tweet, the player delivered a final insult to Ten Hag and Man Utd by liking the response. It was a subtle move that he must have been savvy enough to realise would have been picked up and set social media alight.

Sancho will, of course, return to Old Trafford in the summer, but the landscape could look very different by that point, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover completed and Ten Hag, potentially, out the door.

With a string of indiscretions behind him, it appears that it will be very difficult for him to find space even in the new-look Man Utd.