Dan Ashworth praises four “really good” Man United players as he explains Jadon Sancho sale

Dan Ashworth has praised four “really good” Manchester United players during a recent press conference as he also explained the reason behind Jadon Sancho’s sale.

The Reds have had an uneven start to the new season, securing just one Premier League win in their first three matches.

A disappointing 3-0 defeat to rivals Liverpool came after a last-minute loss against Brighton last weekend.

Their opening victory over Fulham offered some positives, but Erik ten Hag’s team still has plenty to improve on.

One thing that many are pleased about is the business done during the summer transfer window.

Not only did United manage to sign players in crucial positions, but they also raised over £100 million in sales, with add-ons included, which makes it one of their best-ever windows in terms of outgoings.

Jadon Sancho also departed on deadline day, and while it is an initial loan deal to Chelsea, the Blues will have an obligation to buy the winger next summer.

Speaking to the national press about that sale, Ashworth firstly explained that all players who were sold wanted to move on but also detailed that the “really good” depth on the wings of Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Amad Diallo and Antony allowed the club to decide to let Sancho go.

“I think with any player, whether it’s Jadon (Sancho), whether it’s Scott (McTominay) or whether it’s Aaron (Wan Bissaka), if there’s a preference that they would like to move and go to a new club and it’s right for them and it’s right for us, then you have to explore it,” he said.

“We felt we had enough depth in that particular position [on the wing] to be able to cover it. We’ve got four really good wide players; Jadon was a fifth, and it just enabled us to make that decision that if it was good for him and good for us it was something we were willing to consider.”

Further asked whether there was no future for Sancho at Old Trafford, likely due to his history with Ten Hag, the club’s new sporting director once again pushed back on that and explained that they are not in a position to be “kicking” players out.

“Nothing to do with that,” he responded. “It was a decision that we made — if it’s right for Jadon and it’s right for us to move on.

“He wanted to explore the opportunity at Chelsea, like Scott wanted to explore the opportunity at Napoli, like Aaron wanted to explore the opportunity at West Ham. We’re not in a position where we’re kicking players out of the club.”

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