Manchester United decide whether or not they'll terminate Jadon Sancho's contract: Reports
Manchester United have reportedly decided not to terminate the contract of Jadon Sancho by paying him off. The English winger has spent the last four months away from the first-team after being reportedly banned by manager Erik ten Hag.
Sky Sports (via SportBible) had iniitally reported that United were due to take a decision on terminating Sancho's contract in a bid to downplay the concept of 'player power' at the club.
The Athletic (via SportBible) have now reported that they have decided against paying off the player and thereby not terminate his contract. Sancho's current deal at Old Trafford runs till 2026, which means the Red Devils are now left with two choices - watch him run down his contract or sell him to a potential buyer.
What happened between Jadon Sancho and Erik ten Hag at Manchester United?
The incident began when Jadon Sancho, despite being fit, was not included in United's squad for their Premier League match against Arsenal back on September 3.
When asked about the player's absence in the post-match presser, manager Erik ten Hag responded by saying that the player had not trained well during the week and would have to do better in order to make the matchday squad.
Sancho lashed out at these comments, by posting a story on his social media. He posted a message saying that lies were being spread about the real reason behind his exclusion from the team. He then proceeded to delete the said story a little later.
However, it turned out to be enough for ten Hag to completely omit the player, not only from the matchday squad but also from the first-team training sessions, for the coming weeks.
The manager has since then reiterated that the player knows what he has to do to win his place back - which many reports believe includes apologizing to Erik ten Hag.
With Sancho allegedly refusing to do so, he has not played since September 3 for the Red Devils.
What next for Manchester United and Jadon Sancho?
Media reports have indicated that Sancho could be sold in January, with United looking to offload his £200,000-per-week salary as early as possible.
Clubs like Juventus are allegedly keen in signing the player in this January window but a deal is yet to materialize.
The Red Devils signed him from Borussia Dortmund back in 2021 for a reported fee of £73 million. He has since then registered 12 goals and six assists in 82 games for Manchester United.
If he cannot exit the club in January, the likely outcome will be that Sancho will continue to stay on the sidelines at United.
It is an unpleasant situation for all parties with United paying hefty wages to a player they cannot use and Sancho wasting away the prime of his career without any idea of a return date.