Erik ten Hag swerves Jadon Sancho questions but insists Man United culture had to change

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag swerved questions about Jadon Sancho's future on Friday but insisted his remit after being appointed was to change the culture at the club.

Sancho was involved in a public spat with his manager after Ten Hag told the media that the 23-year-old had been left out of the squad for the defeat at Arsenal before the international break because of “his performances in training”.

The winger, signed from Borussia Dortmund for £73 million in the summer of 2021, responded on social media by saying that he had been made a “scapegoat” by the Dutch coach, who is in his second season in charge at Old Trafford.

“Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week,” Sancho wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t go into, I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair!”

United released a statement on Thursday stating that Sancho would be training away from the rest of the first-team squad “pending resolution of a squad discipline issue”.

On Friday, ahead of United's Premier League home game against Brighton, Ten Hag was asked to clarify the situation regarding the Sancho situation, the former Ajax coach skirted around the question.

“Sometimes you have setbacks with players being injured or unavailable for other reasons,” he said, without naming Sancho directly. “Our squad is very good and the players available are motivated.”

But when asked if he considered himself a strict manager, Ten Had said: “Strict lines is what the club asked me [to bring], because there was no good culture before last season. I had to set good standards.

“