When Erik ten Hag was appointed manager of Manchester United, he had a lot of unfinished business to deal with.
While getting the recruiting right was very important, the Dutchman also needed to get his underperforming stars back into his groove.
And for the most part, the former Ajax boss has done his duty tremendously well.
Marcus Rashford is playing like a man reborn, while Diogo Dalot has finally become the player Jose Mourinho envisioned when he decided to bring him to Old Trafford.
Anthony Martial, who was about to leave, has found a new lease of life in Manchester and the management of the Dutch boss’s men seemed to have rubbed off on Jadon Sancho as well.
Sancho’s problems this season
The former Borussia Dortmund man became the joint top scorer in pre-season and started the season scoring crucial goals against arch-rivals Liverpool and Leicester City.
But a dip in form ensued, and suddenly the intrepid winger began to show signs of nervousness when presented with the ball at his feet.
Too scared to face his man and constantly stepping back into his full-back, these were not the traits that forced United to shell out €85m for his services in 2021.
Jadon Sancho has returned to Man Utd as revealed by Erik ten Hag: “Jadon is back in Manchester. He will now start individual training ”. ???????? #MUFC @ChrisWheelerDM
“His return? The time is not now but he is progressing well, we will see when he is ready to return to the squad.” pic.twitter.com/wGYxxqny1q
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 30, 2022
And the coach decided that the England international would be better served if he worked only on his physical and mental condition.
Club sources had also indicated that the 22-year-old took a break from social media to focus on his family and the second half of the season which the club fully supported.
Sancho missed United’s hot-weather camp in Spain for his own personal training in the Netherlands with coaches recommended by Ten Hag.
Sancho returns to Manchester, but is not ready to play yet
After working on himself, Sancho is back in Manchester and will resume training at Carrington. But for now, he will remain a solitary exercise before he can start working with the group.
“He is back in Manchester and will start individual training,” the United manager told The Daily Mail.
“Of course, the time is coming, but the time is not now. He is progressing and we will see when he is ready to return to the squad”.
Sancho hasn’t played for United for 10 weeks and fans will be eager to see him return. Ten Hag and his coaching staff will evaluate him before allowing him back into the fold.
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