Michael Owen believes Manchester United star Jadon Sancho ‘would have preferred’ for Erik ten Hag to lose his position at Old Trafford.
Towards the end of the 2023-24 campaign, Man United considered replacing Ten Hag as the team fell to eighth place in the Premier League – their lowest finish ever.
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After discussions with potential replacements, including Thomas Tuchel, and watching Manchester United win against Manchester City in the FA Cup final, it was decided Ten Hag would remain.
Former England striker Owen believes Sancho ‘probably’ wishes Ten Hag had left after their fallout at the start of the last season.
Sancho was sent back to his former club Borussia Dortmund on loan after clashing with Ten Hag, who criticized his effort in training and dropped him from a matchday squad.
Due to the fallout and his improved performance in Germany, Sancho was expected to make a permanent return to the Bundesliga club.
However, Sancho had clear-the-air talks with Ten Hag last week, was seen in Manchester United training, and started the club’s pre-season friendly against Rangers.
Ten Hag has stated he has ‘drawn a line’ under the disagreement with Sancho, but Owen still thinks the England international would have ‘preferred’ a managerial change before the new season.
‘Jadon Sancho took a really risky move in many ways but almost an unavoidable one in going back to where he was to try to reignite that spark, and he’s done particularly well,’ Owen told Prime Casino.
‘I’m sure he probably would have preferred there to have been a change of manager at Old Trafford so it was a clean slate and he could come back and hopefully start again.
‘I don’t know what his future holds, but he’s certainly gone away and proven that he can still cut it at the top level.’
Ten Hag referred to Sancho as a ‘terribly good player’ after bringing him back into the Manchester United squad.
The Old Trafford manager said: ‘We spoke well. Anyone can make a mistake. If the player reflects well on that, then you draw a line and move on again.
‘This club needs good players, and one thing is for sure: Jadon is a terribly good player. I hope that the click still comes and that he will contribute to our success.’
Despite his skills, Sancho has only scored nine goals in 58 Premier League games for Manchester United since his £73m move from Borussia Dortmund in 2021.
