Rio Ferdinand has revealed exactly how Sir Alex Ferguson would have dealt with Erik ten Hag’s problems around Manchester United outcast Jadon Sancho at Old Trafford.
Sancho hasn’t featured for United’s first team since September after he dropped a bombshell statement on social media amid Erik ten Hag’s criticism of him.
The 23-year-old United winger was left out of the squad for the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates in September, with his absence not going unnoticed.
Ten Hag revealed after the Premier League contest his reasons for not picking Sancho, openly criticising the United player’s ‘poor’ performances in training.
Following Sancho’s response and rift with Ten Hag, the ex-England international was excluded from the United squad and placed on a “personal training programme.”
Sancho, who has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford, has reportedly refused to apologise to the United manager and his future is cast in doubt.
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Ferdinand on how Ferguson would handle Sancho situation
Ferguson was known for his infamous ‘hairdryer treatment’ of players and even brutally axing star names from Old Trafford after they stepped out of line.
The legendary former United boss even made the decision to sell Roy Keane after the ex-Red Devils skipper tore his teammates apart in a famous MUTV interview.
Speaking on his VIBE with FIVE show, Ferdinand insisted that a figure like Ferguson would have handled the Sancho situation in the same way as he did with Keane.
“You see what would happen in my time when I was there? He’d [Sancho] be gone, straight away,” he said on Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE.
“The captain, Roy Keane, stepped out of line. ‘Get out. Move. Done. Time up!’
“Also, that was backed and vocalised, if the situation were to happen at Man United, [former United chief executive] David Gill’s there backing up the manager.”
Where does Ten Hag stand on Sancho now?
Ten Hag isn’t taking a page out of Ferguson’s playbook when it comes to Sancho and the United boss remains open to his return to the Red Devils’ first-team squad.
According to The Guardian, Sancho’s refusal to apologise to the former Ajax boss will ‘likely’ lead to his exit from Old Trafford in the January transfer window.
Sancho’s former club Borussia Dortmund are among the sides interested in the ex-Three Lions star, who is reportedly earning £350,000 per week at United.
When asked about Sancho’s future recently, Ten Hag responded: “It is about a culture and every player has to match certain standards, and it was about that.
“What will happen there, he knows what he has to do if he wants to return. It is up to him. I think that is an internal matter. We will see what will happen.”
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