Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag and Sancho held talks at Carrington on Monday afternoon following the return to training of the non-international players and it was concerning the post remained on his profile after that.
The post being pinned to the top of his profile on X, formerly known as Twitter, seemed like an act of defiance, and deleting it did not spare him consequences.
There was little chance of Sancho being involved against Brighton this weekend and it was confirmed on Thursday that he would train alone indefinitely.
A one-sentence club statement said: “Jadon Sancho will remain on a personal training programme away from the first-team group, pending resolution of a squad discipline issue.”
Ten Hag will speak at his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon and an update on Sancho will surely be given.
Last October, Ten Hag imposed a one-game suspension on Cristiano Ronaldo for dramatically refusing to come on as a substitute and walking down the tunnel against Tottenham, and it remains to be seen how long Sancho will be left out in the cold.
If he is eventually welcomed back into the team, what happens beyond that will be decided by his performances, which have been overwhelmingly disappointing since he arrived with a burgeoning reputation.
Sancho was regarded as one of Europe&aposs finest young talents during his time at Borussia Dortmund and the 72.8million fee paid felt like good value, especially considering Jack Grealish commanded 100m in the same summer.
After a slow start, Grealish has become instrumental at the Etihad while Sancho has continued to flatter to deceive at Old Trafford and, even before his outburst after the Arsenal game, it already felt as though this season could be his last at the club.
Ole Gunnar Solskajer waxed lyrical about Sancho when the winger signed in the summer of 2021 and the Norwegian&aposs comments from the unveiling of the transfer feel like they could actually now be about a different player.
Hes such a creative, positive winger and forward player. He can play wide, nip into the pockets and he excites the fans,” Solskjaer said. ” He takes people on one-against-one, he creates chances, he works hard and he loves football.
“And there is some untapped talent there I am sure, and coming into this environment will help him improve as well. Weve followed him and decided to go for him and finally we made the breakthrough and got the deal done.
“Hes got that DNA of exciting fans and entertaining and hes also a winner. He wants to win and thats the next step for us. We need to take the next step, we want to take the next step and we feel that he can help us do that.
“Of course were going to give him a chance to develop more and more throughout time. Its not like in your first game you have to show everything; weve seen so many times with our players that when you play for Manchester United that gradually, with the help of the coaching staff and the platform of Old Trafford, youll improve as a player.
I think he made a good decision going to the Bundesliga, it was probably the right step for him, the right level and right club. I think Dortmund have shown so many times what they can do for young talent and in the Bundesliga what that can do.
“The Premier League is a different animal though. I dont want to sound disrespectful to the Bundesliga, but I think the Premier League is a step up. Weve seen that in the last few years in the Premier League.”
