The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has offered to help Jadon Sancho and Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag resolve their differences after the winger was reportedly exiled from first-team training and other club facilities.
As per multiple outlets, Sancho has been banned from first-team training and various other facilities around Carrington, including even the dining area after the rift between him and his coach escalated earlier this month.
The 23-year-old made a disagreement even more public after he refuted ten Hag‘s criticism of his performance levels in training on social media, insisting that he had been made a “scapegoat” for a long that the claims made during the Dutchman’s press conference were “completely untrue”.
Sancho was dropped from the squad before their 3-1 loss to Arsenal and the now out-of-favour forward has been sidelined ever since, with ten Hag supposedly demanding an apology and the United star refusing. Now, according to The Times, the PFA have decided to try and step in.
🚨 | The PFA has offered its help in a bid to resolve the dispute between Erik ten Hag and Jadon Sancho. They have been in contact with United and Sancho, although as it stands, there has been no resolution. [@hirstclass] pic.twitter.com/Kg8eToSiYQ
The PFA are trying to help Sancho and ten Hag bury the hatchet.
Despite Sancho now having deleted the social media post, he is said to have been barred from training for the last fortnight and instructed to train on his own; he was put on a similar private programme last season, though it was thought that was due to fitness and confidence-related issues.
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As a result, the PFA have now been in contact with the club United and Sancho to try to help the two settle their differences, although it is thought there has currently “been no resolution and the winger looks set to miss the Carabao Cup match against Crystal Palace on Tuesday.”
When asked last Friday what it would take for Sancho to return, ten Hag simply said, “It depends on him.” — the suggestion being that the England international must apologise and prove himself upon his return to training before he can be considered for any squad selection again.
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With numerous injuries throughout the squad, not to mention Antony also still out of the squad amidst his ongoing domestic assault allegations, everyone at the club will be hoping the two can reconcile sooner rather than later.
That being said, the 53-year-old coach does have other options when it comes to the vacant right-wing position, as many fans are calling for both Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellistri to be given an extended run of games, with Marcus Rashford playing off the left or vice-versa.
Rashford was involved in a car crash on his way home from the Red Devils’ away victory against Burnley but walked away unharmed and is presumed fit to play.
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Mason Mount has also returned from injury, which could see him return to the starting lineup either on the right, where he played plenty of minutes for Chelsea, or in the middle with Bruno Fernandes pushed out wide.
Meanwhile, ahead of tonight’s fixture, Sancho has now deactivated his Instagram account.
Featured Image — Jadon Sancho/Man United (via Twitter)
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 -
26th September 2023 
