It was certainly a very newsworthy press conference provided by Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag on Friday. Ahead of Sunday’s clash against Tottenham Hotspur, the Dutchman informed the media of the latest status updates surrounding two high-priced misfiring forwards, Jadon Sancho and Antony.
Both wayward wingers have cost United a ton of money, and produced next to nothing, goal involvement wise. Let’s start with Jadon Sancho, who came over from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2021 for £73m.
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He now goes back to Dortmund for the rest of the season on loan, with package is worth €4m (£3.4m) to United in terms of a loan fee and partial coverage of the England international’s salary. Before moving back to BVB, Sancho had been frozen out of the team entirely.
That was his punishment for having blasted Ten Hag publicly on Twitter, saying there was an ulterior motive for why he had been benched.
“I hope he’s doing well, so I wish him the best of good luck,” Ten Hag told the media earlier today.
“That’s it. I hope he’s doing well and he’ll be a success.”
Asked whether Sancho might ever play for United again (he last featured before the September international break), Ten Hag responded:
“I replied, I think it’s enough.”
While it remains to be seen where Jadon Sancho goes beyond this season, it is fair to say that his United career is now officially over. And that is not a surprise at all. The Jadon Sancho has long dragged on enough, and this nonsense has been way past the point of tedium for quite some time.
Moving on to Antony, who is also a tremendous flop, especially considering how United paid €95 million (£82.2m/$95.3m) for him, Ten Hag said the Brazilian hasn’t been the same player since the allegations against him arose in the early fall.
Multiple women have accused Antony of committing violent acts against them, and the legal case remains ongoing.
Antony has been cooperative with police and he has not been charged with any crime, but he was suspended by both United and the Brazilian national team earlier this season.
I can explain and I think it’s very simple, his off-field issues stop him playing,” Ten Hag told a news conference earlier today.
“His first year was OK, the preseason was very OK. First four games were very good, but from the moment he was out and then he came back he didn’t deliver the performances you should expect from him and he can do so much better.
“It has had an effect, an impact on him, definitely. He has to deal with that, he has to sort them out but he has to do better.”
Antony has not scored a single goal or registered even one assist this season.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.