Erik ten Hag faces awkward Jadon Sancho U-turn after 'WhatsApp group decision' backfires

Erik ten Hag may have to carry out a WhatsApp U-turn on Jadon Sancho after allegedly removing him from the Manchester United group chat last season. Sancho, 24, has been welcomed back into the fold at Old Trafford after a period of exile.

Less than a year ago, he was excluded from Ten Hag’s squad and barred from using senior facilities, including the canteen. Sancho accused Ten Hag of lying about his training performances to justify leaving him out of the squad for United’s 3-1 away loss to Arsenal last season, in a shocking post on X.

Following his return from his loan spell at Borussia Dortmund, Sancho has been training with the first team after the pair reportedly ironed out their differences at United’s Carrington training base. If United have decided to hold onto Sancho, Ten Hag will have to reverse the purported decision to axe him from their WhatsApp group. 

During his exclusion, it was rumoured that Sancho was removed from the United WhatsApp group in November. This alleged decision coincided with his absence from United training for nearly three months.

The winger found himself ousted from the group chat used by Ten Hag and his staff for team updates amid their standoff. Ten Hag laid down the law by insisting Sancho would only be brought back in from the cold if he apologises for his behaviour. It’s currently unclear as to whether Sancho has apologised to Ten Hag.

In May, Ten Hag broke his silence on Sancho, praising his performances on loan at Borussia Dortmund. It was the first time he mentioned the forward by name for months. The Dutchman said: “He played very well and he’s a very good player. He showed why Manchester United bought him.

“He showed he represents a high value for Manchester United, which is good. I’m happy for Jadon, for the performance and we’ll see what is going to happen in the future.”

Sancho shined throughout his 21 appearances on loan at Dortmund, which ended with him starting their Champions League final loss to Real Madrid. Nevertheless, Dortmund have appeared reluctant to sign him permanently, due to the reported £40million price tag on his head.

The figure may be a hefty one, but it would still represent a huge loss on the £72m United shelled out to sign him in the summer of 2021. Sancho, who has 23 caps for England, was left out of Gareth Southgate’s trimmed-down 26-man squad for Euro 2024. The last time he donned the Three Lions shirt was during their 5-0 thrashing of Andorra in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.