Inside Jadon Sancho’s Troubled Career, Indiscipline Issues As He Fights ten Hag

• Jadon Sancho's outburst on social media has opened Pandora's box on his career at Manchester United
• The winger's attitude was questioned by Erik ten Hag after he dropped him for the trip to the Emirates
• As Sports Brief delves into it, Sancho's issues with authorities started during his days at Manchester City

When Manchester United beat a myriad of other clubs to Jadon Sancho's signature in 2021, it looked like a real-time coup, so much so that the 85 million euros paid to Borussia Dortmund looked like a proper investment.

For a young English star who had lit up the Bundesliga with mesmerizing performances, any fee was worth it. Or so it was thought.

Three years later and this expensive investment is yet to yield results. From regular game time to lacklustre performances to fitness issues - Sancho is yet to deliver. Ask any Manchester United fan to list just five standout games he has played for them so far. A good chance is that they won't.

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So, where did it all go wrong for the young, talented teenager who had the world at his feet at the Signal Iduna Park? What is it that prompted Erik ten Hag to publicly call him out after the damaging Arsenal defeat on September 3? And what about Sancho's response on social media?

Jadon Sancho's issues at Borussia Dortmund

Unsurprisingly, this is not the first time the 23-year-old has rubbed shoulders with authorities. In 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, he, alongside Manuel Akanji, were fined for having a haircut in their home, which was a contravention of the rules set in place to curb the pandemic, as Sky Sports reported.

Earlier in 2019, he was fined up to 100,000 pounds for turning up late for training with no justifiable excuse after being away on international duty. 90 Min reports that his actions upset manager Lucien Favre, who dropped him from his squad to face Borussia Monchengladbach.

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In 2021, England's national team boss, Gareth Southgate, confirmed that Sancho's lack of playing time at the Euros was down to lack of training form. His involvement in the tournament staged in multiple countries was curtailed until the quarter-finals stage.

Pep Guardiola's comments on Jadon Sancho

Borussia Dortmund signed Sancho from Manchester City when Pep Guardiola had already taken charge. The revered manager was previously put to task to explain why he allowed such a young kid with enormous potential to leave to which he replied;

"I don't know. He didn't want to take this challenge, this opportunity to discover if he was able to," as quoted by Bleacher Report.

See the pattern?

Sancho's latest outburst should, therefore, not come as a surprise. Here is a player whose abilities, on his good day, no one can question but has time and time again been weighed down by poor decisions or, to put it loosely, lack of discipline.

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Sancho fires back at Erik ten Hag

In his latest spirited defence on Twitter, the winger reaffirmed that 'he will not allow people to say things that are completely untrue,' adding that 'I have been a scapegoat for a long time.'

Like anyone else, he deserves a fair hearing and a chance to prove himself, but what are the chances that Favre, Southgate, Guardiola and now ten Hag are all wrong about him?

An old video of Sancho during his days in the Manchester City academy shows him trudging off the pitch, visibly upset to be replaced by Phil Foden.

He is seemingly angry with the decision and barely acknowledges Foden, who, as expected, is shocked by his teammate's reaction.

How has ten Hag treated Sancho at Man United?

Before ten Hag's latest sentiments, the Dutch manager had excluded Sancho from group training, subjecting him to personalised attention in his native Netherlands in an attempt to bring him back to where he was. As Sports Brief reported, Sancho was away for three months before ten Hag welcomed him back with a big smile on February 1st.

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During his short time at United, ten Hag has shown leniency and strictness in equal measure. He gave Harry Maguire a chance to prove himself as a starter and as a captain despite calls for the centre-back to be dropped altogether. He finally cracked the whip this season.

For him to call out Sancho in a press conference after all the interventions he put in place can only mean that it didn't work.

What's next for Sancho?

For a manager who didn't think twice about banning the mighty Cristiano Ronaldo, dropping an on-form Marcus Rashford for being 45 seconds late, disciplining Alejandro Garnacho when he had just hit his purple patch, among other things, Sancho's message on social media won't be taken lightly.

It also doesn't bode well for United's scouting department to rope in a player who had many documented cases of indiscipline. Either they chose to give him the benefit of the doubt, or someone did not do their homework well.

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Also, the question many United fans will be asking is, if Sancho is not offering what ten Hag wants in training, what criteria does he use to select Antony and Anthony Martial, who have equally been underwhelming in games?

Interesting days ahead at Carrington.