Manchester United forward Jadon Sancho has returned to full training after two months away from his teammates, with the Reds set to face Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening.
The 22-year-old is said to have returned to first-team training on Tuesday, according to United We Stand editor and journalist Andy Mitten, who reported that the United winger and England international completed has now completed an extensive personal training programme.
Sancho dropped out of the side and first-team set-up altogether back in October after he was subbed off during the 1-1- draw with Chelsea and has been training separately from the rest of the squad since the start of November.
The former Man City and Borussia Dortmund man’s drop-off in form saw him sadly miss out on a place in the Three Lions squad for the 2022 World Cup, but he’ll be no doubt looking to eye a comeback in the second half of the season — especially with that number seven shirt now vacant.
Earlier this month, manager Erik ten Hag confirmed that Sancho has since returned to United’s AON Training Complex at Carrington but was still “not fit enough” to make a comeback just yet.
He went on to explain that the issue was “physical, but physical is also the connection with mental”, adding that “he is now making good progress on the physical part and that will help him.
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Shortly after, he told reporters covering United’s FA Cup tie with Everton that “[he] would like Jadon back as soon as possible”, but added that “footballers are not robots” and fans must be patient as “everyone needs an individual approach”.
🗣️ “He’s back in Carrington, he’s making progress so he’s ready for the next step. Footballers are not robots. Everyone needs an individual approach.”
That tailored man-management certainly seems to have worked for the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw and main man Marcus Rashford, in particular, who has gone from a player previously lacking in self-belief to one bursting with confidence and enjoying the best form of his career.
It seems unlikely that Sancho will be reintroduced to the matchday squad even as a substitute so soon — especially with United enjoying a strong run of nine straight victories and 10 consecutive home wins in all competitions — but you never know.
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New loan signing Wout Weghorst will also be hoping to be in with a shout of his debut against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, having now completed his first full training season for the club.
Featured Image — Manchester United (via Twitter)/Jadon Sancho (via IG)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
18th January 2023 
