AL-ETTIFAQ have been priced out of a last-minute move to land Manchester United rebel Jadon Sancho.
Steven Gerrard’s Saudi side made an enquiry for the former Borussia Dortmund winger following his public bust-up with Erik ten Hag.
They signed Jordan Henderson earlier in the window and fancied pairing him with another Three Lions star in Sancho.
That would have saved the £73million ace and the manager an awkward meeting when the first team return to training at Carrington next week.
However, Al-Ettifaq were told the deal would include an obligation to sign Sancho for a fee of around £50million at the end of the season.
And the club decided they could not commit to that after their summer spending spree – which has also seen Everton’s Demarai Gray join them.
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So with just hours to go before the transfer deadline in Saudi, they pulled the plug on the deal.
Ten Hag is believed to feel let down by Sancho following his public backing of the ex-Manchester City trainee last season.
The manager said the winger had not been included in the squad for the trip to Arsenal as he had not trained well in the build-up to the game.
Sancho went on social media soon afterwards – suggesting there were other reasons for his omission and his post remains live.
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The England international didn’t hold in his public rebuke of his gaffer, in which he said: “Please don’t believe everything you read!
“I will not allow people to say things that are completely untrue. I have conducted myself in training very well this week.
“I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t go into, I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair!
“All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and contribute to the team.
“I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and I am grateful to do so, which I know every week is a challenge.
“I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!”
Sancho now faces an uphill battle to save his Old Trafford career, with chance of him earning a summer move almost gone, although the Turkish window does remain open.
Manchester United will be back in action a week on Saturday, welcoming Brighton to Old Trafford.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
