Erik ten Hag sheds light on why he left Jadon Sancho out of Man Utd win
Jadon Sancho was left out of the Manchester United squad for Fulham tie
Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Jadon Sancho was fully fit for Manchester United’s match against Fulham but was left out of the squad purely as a selection decision.
Sancho featured off the bench during United’s Community Shield loss to Manchester City last weekend.
However, he was notably absent from the lineup for United’s Premier League opener on Friday.
Instead, Ten Hag chose to start with Amad Diallo on the right wing before introducing Alejandro Garnacho as a substitute.
The decision proved successful, as Garnacho played a pivotal role, assisting Joshua Zirkzee’s 87th-minute winner at Old Trafford.
Garnacho had a chance to double the lead late on, but after Marcus Rashford’s unselfish pass, he missed a simple opportunity to seal the victory.
Despite United’s positive start to the season, Sancho’s absence raised questions during Ten Hag’s post-match press conference.
While the Dutchman insisted that he and Sancho have moved past their previous disagreements, speculation lingers that the winger could be on his way out in the final days of the summer transfer window.
“First of all we need squad depth, this season will be survival of the fittest, I can only put 20 players in the squad,” Ten Hag said.
“Then Jadon in the week had an ear infection, he was not 100 per cent fit.
“He could play but we made the choice, we preferred [to have] others on the bench.
“But that can change. It will change.
“We can’t play everyone the same, you see today how important the subs are.
“Sometimes frustrating for the player, but it’s about team, club, there will be more players in this position, we expect them to fight for the club.”
Speaking in July, Ten Hag said of Sancho: “As we said, we’ve drawn the line. Manchester United needs good players and Jadon is a good player.
“We have drawn that line and we move on.”
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