2

A Manchester United forward has a professional transgression which puts him at odds with Erik ten Hag.

The door is closed firmly on his future, and the next time he plays football is in another club’s colours.

Another United forward crosses the line of professionalism, again confirmed publicly by the manager.

He is back playing for the club within two days after being dropped for a game.

The difference in how the matter has been handled in Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford’s case has put Ten Hag under scrutiny.

Before Rashford silenced doubters with his goal against Wolves on his return, questions were being asked if Ten Hag was showing double standards.

Ten Hag recently revealed that the fact Sancho chose to go public with his grievances is where the matter escalated.

While Sancho was given plenty of time to ponder over his mistake and reconcile, he stuck to his grounds, despite pressure from his teammates to sort it out.

It showed that Ten Hag was already willing to be lenient with his first two mistakes- Slacking in training as well as choosing to go public.

The fact that Sancho still chose to stick to his guns became the biggest differentiator and only at that point did the matter reach a point of no return.

Rashford, on the other hand, took responsibility for his actions and even made himself available for the game against Newport County if the manager needed him.

Sancho trying to start the narrative that he was being made the scapegoat for the team’s wider failings effectively undermined the manager’s authority, calling him a liar without saying it out loud.

Rashford, again, never aired the dirty laundry, put his head down after Ten Hag’s comments, and came back to make a difference against Wolves.

Rashford was even amongst the players who urged Sancho to smoothen out his differences with Ten Hag and resume his career at Old Trafford.

Therefore, while questions can be asked of Ten Hag as to why these things keep happening under him, it is the reality that beyond “professional transgression”, the gravity of both matters was vastly different.

It is a credit to his man-management style that he recognised as much and was fluid and flexible in his approach.

He won the battle by reintroducing Rashford to the fold despite outside pressure demand that he remain rigid, and he won the war as both players were disciplined as per their conduct which came after the mistake.

For a squad that still seems to be growing mentally as Ten Hag seeks to implement a more professional approach, his smart handling of both matters will undoubtedly raise the players’ confidence in him.