A former Manchester United first-team coach has claimed that Jadon Sancho was "closed-off" during his time under Erik ten Hag, which "didn't help" the £73million winger
Jadon Sancho back in training with Manchester United 2024
Jadon Sancho used to go straight home after Manchester United training rather than socialising with team-mates
(Image: Manchester United via Getty Imag)
Benni McCarthy has revealed that Jadon Sancho was misunderstood at Manchester United, with his shyness behind the scenes being mistaken for a bad attitude.
Sancho was signed for £73million from Borussia Dortmund in 2021 after a lengthy transfer saga. But he never managed to show the same consistency he had displayed in Germany at Old Trafford, scoring just 12 goals throughout his miserable time with the club.
In September 2023, he fell out with then-Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag over his application in training and refused to apologise for hitting out against the Dutchman's claim on social media, which led to him being frozen out of the first-team squad.
It resulted in the 25-year-old being sent out on two consecutive loan spells, initially to Dortmund and then to Chelsea last season, where he failed to set Stamford Bridge alight but scored in the Europa Conference League final win. The Blues decided at the end of the 2024/25 season to pay United a £5m fee instead of signing the winger permanently for £25m.
And current United boss Ruben Amorim has shown no indication of wanting to reintegrate the Englishman, meaning he is likely to depart this summer as a failed signing.
Now, McCarthy, who worked under Ten Hag as a first-team coach for two years between the summer of 2022 and 2024, has defended Sancho’s character. The South African, now manager of the Kenya national team, says Sancho wasn’t the most sociable team-mate at United and would often head straight home after training, which may have been misconstrued from the outside.
McCarthy told betonlinepromocodes.com: “I couldn’t fault Jadon in training. He brings unbelievable quality, ability and skills. He can make you stop in awe and ask yourself just how he can do things. He brought unmatched quality.
“I think what didn’t help Jadon was that he’s a very closed-off person. He keeps to himself, and from the outside it looked like he wasn’t trying to make friends with his team-mates. He might not have joked around but really he was just quiet, and I don’t think you should judge players on who he gets on with or not.
Benni McCarthy as Manchester United coach
Benni McCarthy had no issues with Jadon Sancho(Image: Getty)
“Based on his ability and craft, I never saw any problems in his relationships. He was quiet-natured, and so when training is done, he doesn’t stay to talk, he heads home. He’s very private. I think a bit of an introvert, which isn’t the opinion he gets branded with in the press."
However, he went on to comment on Sancho’s main issue with consistency, saying: “I think that when it came to Erik, he wanted to see Jadon at his best everyday. Monday to Friday, no days off. I think that’s what the manager would expect from his players, and so it’s up to the players to give it to him. If you can’t do that, you’re going to have problems, and I think the differences and problems then surfaced.
“For me, I don’t have a bad thing to say about Jadon. I loved him, he was unbelievable, sometimes he was unplayable. I don’t want to rush to judgement on players if they’re reserved.”
Amad, Dean Henderson, Marcus Rashford, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jadon Sancho of Manchester United in action during a first team training session at Carrington Training Ground on November 16, 2021 in Manchester, England.
Sancho wasn't the most sociable member of the Manchester United squad
(Image: 2021 Manchester United FC)
Sancho could finally get his permanent move away from Manchester this summer. Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano wrote for GiveMeSport that Serie A giants Juventus have no problem meeting United's asking price for Sancho, believed to be in the region of £25m.
But the Old Lady are not willing to match his eye-watering wage demands of over £300,000-per-week as talks continue with his representatives. The same report added that Juve are prepared to offer as many as three players in order to complete a deal for the United outcast.
It's claimed that the Italians have offered Douglas Luiz, Tim Weah and Dusan Vlahovic to sweeten a deal for Sancho. United reportedly have not yet responded to that proposal and could prefer straight cash amid attempts to boost Amorim's budget.