Fabrizio Romano explains why Jadon Sancho was dropped by Erik ten Hag as showdown talks confirmed

Fabrizio Romano has shed light on the tension between Erik ten Hag and Jadon Sancho.

Sancho and Manchester United manager Ten Hag are embroiled in a public spat after the winger was dropped for the club’s Arsenal game because of poor performances in training.

The 23-year-old did not travel to north London for Sunday’s Premier League encounter, where two stoppage-time goals saw United fall to a 3-1 defeat. After the game Ten Hag revealing that the England international had been dropped due to his standard in training.

The Dutchman said in his press conference: "Jadon, on his performances in training we did not select him. You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United and we can make choices in the front line. So for this game, he was not selected."

But Sancho hit back on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter, claiming: "Please don't believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that are completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week.

"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! All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team.

"I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and (am) grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge. I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!"

On the matter Romano claimed that there had been pre-existing tension between Ten Hag and Sancho, and that the pair are due to have a face-to-face meeting this week.

The Italian journalist said on his YouTube channel: "It's a tense situation and this tension with Jadon Sancho was already there in the past two to three weeks.

"It's something that those close to Manchester United know very well because Erik ten Hag, and not just Erik ten Hag but the people among his staff, were not so happy with the level of training of Jadon Sancho. They were expecting something different.

"But it's also true that Jadon Sancho's position is very clear. He believes there is something else not related to his training performances and this is why he was not selected for the game against Arsenal. He didn't want to mention [what that reason is], as he said in the public statement, but the situation looks tense between Ten Hag and Sancho.

"Also, Ten Hag believed that he did his best to help Sancho in a difficult moment last season, so he wants Jadon Sancho to perform in the best way possible, otherwise he's not going to be part of the squad.

"But speaking to sources who are close to Sancho, they insisted he is doing his best and believe it was a different decision. We have to see how it will evolve."

Romano added: "We can also confirm that from Manchester United's [perspective] was that 'the message from the manager was clear and we stand with what the manager said in his press conference.'"

"Of course now it is expected that there will be a direct, face-to-face discussion between Ten Hag and Sancho to clarify the issue this week."