Remember all of those times when we, and everyone else out there who covers Manchester United, wrote sentences like this: “Jadon Sancho remains suspended and likely will never play for the side again.” Well, hell must have frozen over because Jadon Sancho has reportedly apologized to manager Erik ten Hag.
He was pictured in full training alongside the rest of his teammates today.
HE’S BACK!!!
SANCHO HAS FINALLY APOLOGISED ??? pic.twitter.com/7q440E7ofE
— UF (@UtdFaithfuls) July 12, 2024
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Competition: Club Friendly
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The club has released a statement, which simply reads: “Jadon has returned to United training at Carrington, as our pre-season work continues.” So today is a day of peacemaking, fence-mending and letting bygones be bygones.
How did we get here? Well, the detailed description that Jose Mourinho gave of the situation, while doing punditry work at the UEFA Champions League Final, summarized it best.
But now it’s time to move on, and this is very much a reconciliation of convenience for both sides.
With Antony a total flop and Mason Greenwood on an exit path (as he should be), United are hurting for depth in the attack. They need Sancho to live up to his price tag, because they just couldn’t get any kind of real, solid concrete interest (at least nobody willing to pay what they were asking) in the transfer market.
For Sancho, his agent just couldn’t seem to find him a new destination, and the last thing he needs is to keep languishing in limbo. Especially since his loan stint at Borussia Dortmund went pretty well. It would be a shame to waste all that positive momentum.
So this way forward is obviously the best for all involved.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.