Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag may have dug his own grave with Jadon Sancho demand

Following Saturday’s humiliation at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion, Erik ten Hag must put his words into action or run the risk of Jadon Sancho outlasting him at Manchester United. Ten Hag’s second season got off to a terrible start as the Red Devils were soundly defeated at home.

United started well at Old Trafford and were quick out of the blocks in search of a response to the 3-1 defeat at Arsenal before the international break.

But the optimism of the 74,000 fans in attendance soon drained out of the stadium when Danny Welbeck punched Brighton into the lead on 20 minutes.

Rasmus Hojlund’s disallowed strike before half-time took another hit on morale before Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro added the visitors’ second and third in the second half.

Hannibal Mejbri’s maiden United strike was nothing more than a consolation as Ten Hag’s side suffered their third defeat in five outings

It was a well-deserved hammering, too. Ten Hag did a good job of preparing his players by transitioning to a diamond formation with four midfielders, but he failed to respond to Roberto De Zerbi’s tactical change that helped Brighton win the match.

It is very concerning that United was outmatched strategically, technically, and physically by a club that cost four times less overall than Jadon Sancho.

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Over two weeks ago, Ten Hag revealed that he had excluded Sancho from his squad to face Arsenal due to training performances.