Erik ten Hag Remains Tight-Lipped About the Future of Jadon Sancho

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag swiftly dealt with questions regarding Jadon Sancho after his side's 3-0 home win over Crystal Palace in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

Sancho was unavailable and not selected in the matchday squad for the fifth game in a row due to his ongoing separation from the first team after a public fallout with Ten Hag. The English winger is currently training away from the senior squad on his own and he is now based in the academy facilities.

The fallout first occurred after ten Hag publicly stated that Sancho was not in the matchday squad for his side's 3-1 defeat away at Arsenal earlier this month due to his subpar performances in training. Sancho immediately responded to his manager's comments by indicating on social media that Ten Hag's claims were false and that he had been performing well in training.

Since then, Sancho has removed the response post from social media but has refused to apologise to the Red Devils manager for his comments. As of now, a standoff remains with neither party backing down from their original stances.

When Ten Hag was asked by Sky Sports about the situation with Sancho possibly being resolved after defeating Crystal Palace, he refused to go into detail on the matter. He said: "I don't talk about players who are not available."

Ten Hag was then asked about Sancho deactivating his Instagram account and whether that was a sign of a possible reconciliation. The Dutchman bluntly replied: "I don't know. It's up to him."

Sancho has previously spent time away from Manchester United as last season saw him get put on an individual training programme to help him rediscover his form and find himself in a better position physically and mentally.

If Sancho continues to refuse to apologise to Ten Hag, then his career at Old Trafford may not be salvageable and an exit may be on the horizon. The issue for Manchester United with offloading Sancho is that his underwhelming performances mean the club is unlikely to recoup the £73 million they paid for him when he was signed from Borussia Dortmund two years ago.

Also, due to Sancho's training issues being publicly known now, potential buyers interested in taking on his talents may be somewhat hesitant to make a move for him as there may be worries over the winger's commitment and attitude levels.

There have been rumours of a potential return to Borussia Dortmund for Sancho down the line, however, that appears unlikely as his former employers reportedly had concerns over his discipline during his first spell at the club. The Bundesliga club felt Sancho was not getting sufficient amounts of sleep due to him often playing video games late into the night.

Sancho arguably would have had more minutes under his belt had he apologised and been reintegrated into Ten Hag's first-team plans as one of Manchester United's other wingers, Antony, is currently away from the squad at the moment due to dealing with assault allegations.

Manchester United did not miss Sancho on Tuesday night as they remained in control throughout the game against Crystal Palace, as Alejandro Garnacho, Casemiro and Anthony Martial all got on the scoresheet at Old Trafford. This put the Carabao Cup holders comfortably through into the fourth round, with their next opponents set to be named in the draw after tonight's second batch of third-round ties.

New summer midfield signing, Sofyan Amrabat, made his first start for Manchester United in the win over Crystal Palace and impressed with a good performance despite playing out of position as a left-back. Mason Mount returned to the starting 11 after having spent a few weeks on the sidelines, whilst youth prospect, Hannibal Mejbri, started his second consecutive game in midfield.

Ten Hag expressed his satisfaction with the win, telling Sky Sports that he feels "it was a good night" and that the team, Manchester United, "played quite well, dominated the game". The Red Devils manager went on to say that is "what we're looking for".

"There is a lot to come but we are moving forward," he added.

Next up for Ten Hag's side is the visit of Crystal Palace again, but this time in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. Regular starters such as Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes are expected to be among the players who come back into the starting 11 for the game.