Jadon Sancho has kickstarted his career again since re-signing for Borussia Dortmund on loan back in January, helping them reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. Sancho left Manchester United after falling out with Erik ten Hag, but the Dutch boss admits it is “not a surprise” to see him doing well. Ten Hag also said Alejandro Garnacho has apologised for liking critical social media posts. Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has said it is “not a surprise” that Jadon Sancho has had a positive impact during his loan spell back at Borussia Dortmund.
Sancho re-signed for the Bundesliga club on a season-long loan in the January transfer window after he was omitted from the first-team squad following an apparent falling-out with Ten Hag.
The 24-year-old has since made 14 appearances for Dortmund, scoring two goals and providing two assists in the process. Sancho started both games as Dortmund overcame Atletico Madrid over two thrilling legs to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2013.
Speaking in his Friday press conference, Ten Hag acknowledged that it is “good news” for Sancho to be competing at the highest level.
“Of course, I follow international football and follow the players on loan at other clubs,” Ten Hag said. “It was a fantastic game, Dortmund against Atletico Madrid.
“A great performance from Dortmund and also for Jadon it’s good news. He made his contribution to the result for Dortmund.”
When asked if the situation regarding Sancho’s future at Old Trafford had changed given his recent form, Ten Hag replied: “No, but we know Jadon Sancho is a fantastic football player, so that is not a surprise for us. That is not the issue.” Sancho and Dortmund will face Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals of the competition with either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich awaiting them in June’s final at Wembley.
Meanwhile, Ten Hag is gearing up for a huge weekend as United face Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday. The cup provides United with the final chance to win a piece of silverware this season and Ten Hag believes it won’t be an easy task to defeat the Championship side.
“We are prepared so we know their team, know how they play, know the individual abilities of the players and know the manager,” he explained. “[Coventry manager Mark Robins] is a former United player, a striker, he’s doing a fantastic job over there so we know a lot about them. Of course they are dangerous, they are in the semi-final, then it’s logical.
“Last season they were not far away from promotion to the Premier League so they’re doing a fantastic job over there. We have seen the game against Wolves in the quarter-final, the mentality is fabulous. We have to play to our best levels.”
Despite an underwhelming second campaign at Old Trafford, Ten Hag said he is already planning for next season and is determined for the club to reach back-to-back FA Cup finals.
When asked if winning a trophy would salvage United’s season, he replied: “You have to always see the circumstances we have to face, but I’m not thinking in this moment about this. “I’m thinking about Sunday, about how we go to beat Coventry City. It’s all about this and the rest is for later. We are planning for next season but for now it’s all about Sunday.
“Last season was last season. We want to achieve every season, we want to win trophies, we have a big opportunity because we are in a semi-final but it’s a huge challenge.
“We know all the problems and always when you have so many problems you have to find solutions, so on Sunday we will find solutions and we want to go into the final.” Ten Hag also confirmed that Alejandro Garnacho has apologised after liking social media posts which criticised his substitution during the 2-2 Premier League draw with Bournemouth last week.
“Alejandro is a young player, he has to learn a lot,” Ten Hag said.
“He apologised for it and after that we move on.”