Erik ten Hag and Jadon Sancho 'showdown talks' at Manchester United might spring a surprise

The players who haven't played international football reported back to Carrington for Manchester United training on Monday.

Jadon Sancho was absent from the defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates, which means his break has been longer than most players' time off, but it would have felt even longer after he called out Erik ten Hag online.

Ten Hag, speaking after the loss to Arsenal, said Sancho had been dropped from the squad because of his unsatisfactory training displays and the player disputed that by writing 'don't believe everything you read' in an extraordinary response.

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There have been nine days since Sancho sent that social media post, which remains pinned at the top of his X account, but that period must have dragged on for the player considering his future at the club is now uncertain.

Although Ten Hag intended to provoke a response from Sancho on the training pitch with his comment, it provoked an inadvisable public outburst and there are bound to be consequences for the player.

What those consequences are remains to be seen. Ten Hag is known to be a disciplinarian and the overwhelming majority of the dressing room has reacted positively to that approach, hence the improved performances last season.

Ten Hag and Sancho are believed to have held talks at Carrington on Monday upon the return of the non-internationals after the break and while the outcome of that meeting is yet to be revealed, the outcome might not be what's expected.

Some have suggested that it's possible Sancho has played his last game for the club, but at the time of writing, that seems highly unlikely following the decision to delay Antony's return to training until further