Upon ultimately finalising his transfer to Manchester United in 2021, it was certain that Jadon Sancho would make a lasting impression at Old Trafford, having scored 114 goals in just 137 games while at Borussia Dortmund.

Nevertheless, the winger’s three years in the Premier League have been anything but that; he has failed to make an impression on the United team and has swiftly become a transfer flop.

Even worse, Sancho has now found himself in a public spat with United manager Erik ten Hag, releasing a statement criticising the Dutchman for dropping the England international following a subpar training week.

Rio Ferdinand gave his assessment on the issue without delay.

Is Rio Ferdinand saying anything?
“There’s no way Jadon’s putting out a statement like that if he hasn’t, in his own eyes, performed well,” Ferdinand tweeted in response to Sancho’s comments, expressing some disbelief. And that, too, is the distinction now. Although I’ve trained well, the boss may have specific expectations based on his chart.

“At this point, there is only one possible outcome. Okay, in two ways. You can either play the entire season on the bench or not make the squad, but there is only one window available, and that is Saudi Arabia.”

Sancho was, of course, reacting to Ten Hag’s interview, in which the former Ajax manager stated, through the BBC: “Jadon, we did not select him based on his training performances.”

“We can make decisions in the front line, and at Manchester United, you have to perform to a certain standard every day. Thus, he was not chosen for this game.”

For Jadon Sancho, what’s next?
Premier League player Jadon Sanchez of Manchester United
To suggest that Sancho now faces an extremely difficult task of re-entering Ten Hag’s plans would be a vast understatement. It was already looking bleak for the former Dortmund player to make the Dutchman’s strongest starting lineup. But his chances of eventually proving his naysayers incorrect at Old Trafford have now been drastically reduced.

Since much of Europe has closed its transfer window, it is unclear where the winger will move from here. Sancho will rank among the worst failures in Premier League history as things currently stand, barring a spectacular comeback.

With 12 goals and 6 assists in 82 games, he has only achieved 18 goal involvements during his stint with the Red Devils. Considering that Sancho scored 50 goals in Germany, those statistics are a stark reminder of how much worse things have gotten since he returned to English football.

Given his age of 23, one could argue that Sancho has plenty of time to change the course of his career for the better. But in the red part of Manchester, such improvement seems less and less likely to occur.

In the upcoming weeks, it will be interesting to watch how Sancho and Ten Hag’s public spat plays out because the Premier League games are happening quickly as well.