"He's already had mental health issues" - Jamie O'Hara slams Manchester United over disgusting treatment of 'young player'
Jamie O'Hara has accused Manchester United of potentially damaging Jadon Sancho's mental health over their treatment of the English winger.
The club announced that Sancho will be training away from the first team before a 'squad discipline' issue is resolved. That relates to the 23-year-old's post on X (formerly Twitter).
Manchester United boss Ten Hag omitted the England international from his matchday squad in the 3-1 at Arsenal on September 3. He reasoned that the winger hadn't trained to the 'level required'.
Sancho responded by not only denying those claims but also claiming that he was being made a scapegoat. The post on his X account was pinned to the top of his profile for just over a week before it was removed.
However, Sancho has now been banished from first-team training, and The Athletic reports that he refused to apologise to Ten Hag. It's becoming an untenable situation but one that O'Hara has told talkSPORT is 'disgusting' on Manchester United's part:
"I think it's disgusting what they're doing to him. I know he's come out and made a statement, whether that was the right thing to do or not ... but was it right of Ten Hag to dig him out when he wasn't even involved with the group?"
Sancho appeared to struggle with mental health issues last season, which Ten Hag alluded to, when sending him for three months of individual training in the Netherlands.
O'Hara said that the club's handling of the player isn't going to help him bounce back:
"What they're doing to him right now is never going to get Jadon Sancho back to his best. All you're going to do is mentally damage the football player and make him feel worse than he already does."
The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder also ripped into the Red Devils by accusing them of hypocrisy regarding mental health:
"I'm sure Jadon Sancho is struggling right now. He's already had mental health issues.
"If Manchester United can come out and say they're mental health ambassadors and they do all this stuff about mental health around their group and community and then do that to their own player, they should be ashamed of themselves."
O'Hara concluded:
"They shouldn't be doing that in this day and age. ... we all know it's gone on in the past, but you can't do it anymore, especially to a young player who's already been through mental health struggles."
Sancho has endured a difficult spell at Old Trafford following his £73 million move from Borussia Dortmund in 2021. He has been unable to replicate his form at Signal Iduna Park.
The young attacker has managed 12 goals and six assists in 82 games across competitions. He has been handed just three appearances this term amounting to 76 minutes worth of action.
Manchester United manager Ten Hag is being unfairly criticised for his handling of Sancho
A manager going public with their issues with a player isn't necessarily a rarity in football, and many argue that Ten Hag was trying to motivate Sancho. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano says that the Manchester United coach protected the Englishman amid his struggles last season.
Moreover, you needn't look further than Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola who made comments regarding Kalvin Phillips' weight last season. The Spanish coach said following the 2022 FIFA World Cup (via Sky Sports):
"He's not injured. He arrived overweight. I don't know (why). He didn't arrive in the condition to do training sessions and to play."
Sancho has three years left in his contract with Manchester United, but there are doubts over his future.
He will now undergo individual training for the second time under Ten Hag. It could be that both parties consider separating in January, with either a loan or a permanent transfer a possibility.