Former NFL icon J.J. Watt has questioned Manchester United’s team chemistry following the fall-out between manager Erik ten Hag, and Jadon Sancho. The retired defensive end, who owns a minority share in Premier League rivals Burnley, believes there must be “something going on behind the scenes” at Old Trafford.
The public disagreement between Ten Hag and Sancho came following United’s win against Nottingham Forest on August 26. The forward was then dropped from the squad when the team played Arsenal just eight days later, with the Dutch coach citing that his omission was due to his performances in training.
Sancho refuted the claims via his social media account, leading the club to release a statement saying the winger would be training alone.
The news came as a surprise to fans and to Watt, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, who was asked about the situation while appearing on NBC Sports. The former Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals star believes that there are serious concerns behind the scenes at the club.
“You look at the Jadon situation right now, it gets talked about (in the locker room), you can’t just ignore it,” Watt said while appearing on NBC Sports. “The way that has played out so publicly, there has to be something going on behind the scenes there.
“To have a coach speak so openly about that situation means he has tried many different ways behind the scenes and it hasn’t worked.
“It happens a little bit (in the NFL) but like I said, if it gets to a point where the coach is speaking publicly, that means everything has gone on behind the scenes, people have had those conversations, and now it has boiled up to a whole new high.”
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Watt’s comments came ahead of United’s recent dramatic win over Brentford, which saw two late goals from midfielder Scott McTominay seal all three points. United have only achieved four wins in eight games this season and back-to-back defeats in the Champions League.
“You have the allure and everything to bring in the greatest players in the world – it all comes down to it all gelling together,” Watt added. “That seems to be a little bit of the issue, the chemistry of the team. But I’m also sitting here as a guy who lost 1-0 to them a couple of weeks ago!”
Manchester United are next in action next Saturday (October 14) when they play Sheffield United in the Premier League.
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