Reason Southgate snubbed Jadon Sancho and left Man Utd star out of England World Cup squad

Jadon Sancho’s omission from England’s World Cup squad was down to purely footballing reasons, but the Manchester United winger’s timekeeping is said to have annoyed Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate.

The 22-year-old joined the Red Devils shortly after Euro 2020 where he was part of the England side that lost to Italy in the final during which he missed a penalty in the heartbreaking shootout defeat.

Sancho lit up the Bundesliga during his time with Borussia Dortmund but his career has stalled since moving to Old Trafford following a £72.5million transfer.

The talented winger started the new season under Erik ten Hag in positive fashion, scoring in an impressive win over Liverpool, but he has slipped backed down his manager’s pecking order in recent weeks.

Indeed Sancho hasn’t started any of United’s last five matches which rendered his chances of forcing his way into Southgate’s plans virtually impossible.

But the Telegraph report that the die was cast from the moment he turned up late to a team meeting when he was in the squad last October for the qualifying win over Andorra.

Southgate has a rule in place to only start meetings when every player is present, meaning the squad were left waiting.

While losing his place in the England set-up will sting, Sancho faces a battle to win the faith of Ten Hag who looks increasingly ready to turn to youngster Alejandro Garnacho who gave another timely reminder of his ability during Thursday’s Carabao Cup win over Aston Villa.

And, unless he pulls his finger out, former United defender Paul Parker fears Sancho could end up representing the worst signing in the entire history of the club.

‘To be honest I’ve never really understood why Man United paid so much money for Jadon Sancho,’ Parker told Bettors.

‘He has a lot of issues because he is never attacking full-backs, he is passing backwards and is not really challenging his direct opponent.

‘The way you play in Germany is completely different to the Premier League and it seems like he’ll never be able to adapt well enough to be a key player for Man United.

‘If you look at the money Man United paid for him, I would say that he could end up being the worst buy ever in Manchester United’s history.’

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