Former Premier League chairman Simon Jordan is backing Erik ten Hag in the Jadon Sancho dispute with reports suggesting Manchester United could sell the England international during the January transfer window.
Having spent a decade at the helm of his beloved Crystal Palace, Simon Jordan knows how situations such as these tend to go.
According to The Mirror, Jadon Sancho has been ‘exiled’ from the first-team picture at Manchester United after that now-deleted social media post, forced to train with the academy after reportedly refusing to apologise for Ten Hag (The Athletic).
And Jordan, who admits to having experienced similar dramas during his time at Selhurst Park, is coming out punching in Ten Hag’s corner, insisting that all the furore that surrounded his post-Arsenal comments have been massively overblown in some quarters.
Manchester United may sell Jadon Sancho
“Do I think what Ten Hag said was outrageous? No, I don’t,” Jordan argues on talkSPORT, referring back to Ten Hag’s revelation that Sancho had been dropped for that Arsenal defeat due to his performances in training.
“Do I think it was ill-advised and unnecessary? Possibly. But the level of ‘outing’ is so mundane. It’s not ‘you’re useless and we want to get rid of you’. It’s none of that.”
In truth, Ten Hag’s public criticism of the £73 million Man United forward felt like a bit of a ‘last roll of the dice’ sort of move. A change of tack from a man who has tried so many other solutions with limited results.
Lest we forget that the Dutchman spent much of last term defending and shielding Sancho from the media glare, the former Borussia Dortmund star afforded a three-month break from first-team duties while keeping himself fit in Ten Hag’s homeland.
January exit may be the only solution
“You’ve got a player deciding he’s taken exception and decided to go through social media. People need to grow up and look at the reality. You’ve got to have order,” Jordan adds.
“The player should never have spoken out. If he had a real issue, he should have gone to the manager and spoken to him.
“I would ask the manager ‘What do you want to do? (If he said he wanted him to leave) boom, gone, out in January. If the manager says you’re not training well enough, end of discussion.
Which is the more valuable? The player? Who I can probably sell for the same amount of money in January and get out of this problem? Or the manager?
“(The most important is) the manager.”
The Daily Star, and a number of other publications, believe that Sancho may be sold for a cut-price fee in January.
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