Late-window scrambles have become something of a Manchester United tradition.

This summer, a £35 million deal for Atalanta’s Ederson collapsed after a medical flagged a knee problem, and the club ended up with Youri Tielemans instead.

Lewis Hall signed a new contract at Newcastle, leaving left-back unaddressed, and Joshua Zirkzee’s potential exit dragged on until deadline day.

Insiders have since admitted that the squad assembled was not the one they wanted, and that the window fell short.

Erik ten Hag has now described a similar headache from his first summer as United manager, in a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic.

Erik ten Hag reveals Jadon Sancho refused to play for Manchester United

He revealed that United had to look for a right winger late in the window in 2022 because Jadon Sancho did not want to play on that side.

“There came up a problem because Sancho didn’t want to play on the right side; he said that,” says Erik ten Hag.

“Which was very weird; he played often on the right.

“He said he felt more comfortable on the left. So there we had an issue, and we were late.”

United ultimately signed Antony, who joined from Ajax on deadline day in a deal worth up to £82 million.

Ten Hag had said as much publicly in May 2023, noting that Sancho “can do both” wings “but I think he prefers to play on the left”.

Sancho had arrived from Borussia Dortmund in July 2021 for £73 million, and went on to make 83 appearances for United, scoring 12 goals and providing 6 assists.

The relationship broke down in September 2023, when Ten Hag explained his absence from the squad for the 3-1 defeat at Arsenal by saying, “On his performance on training we didn’t select him.”

Sancho hit back on X, “Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue.

“I have conducted myself in training very well this week.”

He added, “I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time, which isn’t fair.”

United’s statement said, “Jadon Sancho will remain on a personal training programme away from the first-team group pending resolution of a squad discipline issue.”

Sancho refused to apologise, and did not play for United for more than three months.

He left on loan to Dortmund in January 2024, then spent a season at Chelsea and last season at Aston Villa, making 39 appearances and scoring once as Villa won the Europa League.

United released him as a free agent this summer, and he has since been training with a non-league club in Manchester.

LaLiga side Getafe have made him an official contract offer, though Sancho will need to lower his wage demands to complete a move.