Harry Kane must be thinking he dodged a bullet with Man Utd in full-blown crisis a week before Bayern Munich showdown
pBut with more problems piling up while he has been away, a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/team/1196656/manchester-united/Manchester United/a’s Dutch boss must already feel like he needs another holiday./p
figure id=attachment_23892878 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 829pximg decoding=async fetchpriority=high src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/e44afa43-2182-4d8f-a819-8123a42515de.jpg?strip=allamp;w=819 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23892878 width=819 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textManchester United boss Erik ten Hag is dealing with a full-blown crisis/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figure
pTricky fixtures a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/23890769/man-utd-line-up-brighton-bayern-munich-antony-sancho/against Brighton/a and then Bayern Munich in the next ten days are the last thing he needs right now./p
pThe Red Devils a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/23889941/manchester-united-antony-return-training-allegations/just told Antony to stay away/a until further notice./p
pa href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/team/1196656/manchester-united/United/a have come under increasing pressure over the last week to take action amid allegations of domestic violence against the 23-year-old Brazil winger./p
pHis national team wasted no time in axing him from their squad for this week’s World Cup qualifiers — yet the Old Trafford giants initially chose to bide their time./p
pNow, though, chief executive Richard Arnold — with the full blessing of Ten Hag — has decided the £85.5million signing should be given leave of absence./p
pAntony broke down in tears during a TV interview in his homeland on Friday night — a sign the last few days have clearly taken their toll on him./p
pNow he can focus fully on clearing his name rather than football./p
pBut it all means Ten Hag must manage without a player he pushed hard to sign from his old club Ajax just 12 months ago./p
pIn truth, Antony — who worked under Ten Hag in the Netherlands— has struggled to live up to his bumper price tag./p
pAnd now another player the Dutch tactician was counting on for this season is off the table for what looks to be a key period for United./p
pDo not forget it was only three weeks ago that United performed a U-turn and announced 21-year-old Mason Greenwood would not play for them again./p
pIn the weeks leading up to that decision, the feeling was he would return to the fold after charges including attempted rape and assault were dropped./p
p class=has-text-align-centerstronga href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/betting/21097803/casino-welcome-bonus/ target=_blank aria-label=CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS (opens in a new tab) rel=noreferrer noopenerCASINO SPECIAL #8211; BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS/a/strong/p
figure id=attachment_23892895 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2790e0c3-9c44-4a05-8964-591120b418ac.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23892895 width=960 height=644 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textBayern Munich star Harry Kane must be thinking he dodged a bullet by not joining Man Utd/figcaptionfigcreditRex/figcredit/figure
pGreenwood a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/23789207/mason-greenwood-getafe-kit-number-salary/is now at Spanish side Getafe/a on loan./p
pSo, with those two forwards out of thenbsp; picture, it would normally be an opportunity for Jadon Sancho to seize his chance./p
pBut of course it is not as simple as that — it never is at Old Trafford these days./p
pThe £73m winger is due to return to training on Monday and cross paths with Ten Hag for the first time a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/23776811/jadon-sancho-scapegoat-ten-hag-dropped-training/since their public spat/a./p
pSancho, 23, was left out of the squad for the Red Devils’ 3-1 defeat at Arsenal last Sunday, with the manager openly criticising his performances in training./p
pThe England international was quick to respond on social media, suggesting the reasons given by Ten Hag were “completely untrue” and he had been made a “scapegoat”./p
figure id=attachment_23892905 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 709pximg decoding=async src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/19-08-2023-manchester-uniteds-843392683-2.jpg?strip=allamp;w=699 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23892905 width=699 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textMan Utd have placed Antony on leave amid allegations of domestic abuse/figcaptionfigcreditPA/figcredit/figure
pEight days later, Sancho’s statement is still up for all to read./p
pIt promises to be a tense start to the week at United’s HQ when the pair cross paths./p
pTen Hag feels let down bynbsp; Sancho, particularly after giving him time off last season to deal with “physical and mental” issues./p
pAnd after an unconvincing start to thenbsp; campaign, a senior player publicly challenging his authority has done him no favours./p
pIt is hard to see a way back for the former Manchester City trainee, who has also tested the patience of some of his team-mates./p
pA move to Saudi Arabia emerged as a possibility for Sancho last week but collapsed after Al-Ittihad would not agree to United’s demands./p
figure id=attachment_23892915 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/jadon-sancho-manchester-united-instructs-843157980-5.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23892915 width=960 height=710 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textJadon Sancho#8217;s Man Utd future is up in the air after lashing out at Ten Hag/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figure
pTen Hag will also hope the injury problems which have blighted his team’s start to the season do not get any worse during the international break./p
pFor the defeat at Arsenal, he was without defenders Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, as well as new midfielder Mason Mount./p
pLisandro Martinez limped off at Arsenal with a foot injury which was still bothering him when he met up with Argentina./p
pAnd Ten Hag will also have an eye on Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Burundi./p
pAndre Onana recently performed a U-turn on his international retirement and should Cameroon qualify, it is likely to mean United’s new keeper will miss seven games to play in the tournament which starts in January./p
figure id=attachment_23892935 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 661pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/4be6a301-9651-4551-a1f0-65a4963fe51e.jpg?strip=allamp;w=651 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23892935 width=651 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textMason Greenwood joined Getafe on loan after charges, including rape and assault, were dropped/figcaptionfigcreditRex/figcredit/figure
pSo against that backdrop, Ten Hag must find a way to kick-start United’s season./p
pThe defeats at Arsenal and Spurs were not unexpected given his team’s problems away from home against the Prem’s leading lights./p
pBut their home victories over Wolves and Nottingham Forest were hardly convincing./p
pNow they face Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton, who are six places above United in sixth./p
pAnd then a week on Wednesday it is their Champions League opener at Bayern Munich, where they will come face to face with a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/harry-kane/Harry Kane/a — the striker they wanted this summer./p
pThe England captain, who has made such a promising start to life in Germany,nbsp; must be thinking he dodged a bullet./p