Jurgen Klopp’s previous comments on Jadon Sancho have resurfaced amidst the ongoing feud between the player and Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.
Sancho is currently training away from the first team after accusing the club of making him a “scapegoat” for his omission from the squad that lost 3-1 to Arsenal on September 3.
Ten Hag had cited Sancho’s subpar training performances as the reason for his exclusion, a claim the 23-year-old winger vehemently denied in a social media post that he later deleted.
According to a Mirror report, Sancho has been isolated from all first-team facilities at United, including the team dining room, while his teammates have encouraged him to apologize and resolve his feud with Ten Hag.
Sancho’s future at United is uncertain, with links to a transfer to Saudi Arabia, a return to Borussia Dortmund, and interest from several Premier League clubs. However, a move to Liverpool is unlikely, as Klopp has previously praised Sancho’s talents but emphasized that he has always been too expensive for Liverpool.
Speaking on Sancho in 2019, when the player was starring for Dortmund in the Bundesliga, Klopp explained that the premium on signing English players had prohibited any potential of a deal.
Klopp said via theMirror: “Buying English players is a smart idea because we would never have a chance to get Sancho.
“We are not blind – we saw him, liked him and then thought: ‘Can we get him?’ No. Because English clubs don’t sell to other English clubs. I don’t know the reason for that, but they don’t do it. Now they can go to Germany, which is a wonderful league.”
A year later, Klopp toldBildthat Sancho would be a great signing but he did not expect a deal to go through.
He said: “The red shirt (of Liverpool) would suit very well. I don’t think such a transfer will be possible this season. He (Sancho) is a very interesting player. (But) if he’s coming to Liverpool I would be the most surprised of all of us.”
In 2021, Klopp once again played down the possibility of a deal as he highlighted the financial ramifications of the Covid pandemic. He said: “I hear a lot about big-money moves, I don’t know if Kylian Mbappe is going or not, whether (Erling) Haaland or Sancho will, these kinds of players.
“I don’t see that happening this summer because the football world is still not in the same place it was before.”
And ahead of facing Sancho and United in October 2021, Klopp defended the winger after a difficult start to life at Old Trafford.
“Jadon Sancho is a world-class talent. Definitely,” Klopp said. “He has all the things you need to become one of the world’s best players in the future.
“That’s how it is, but he’s still very young. At Dortmund, they were obviously full of praise for him. Rightly so.
Klopp continued: “I saw a lot of games where he played outstandingly well. It’s a normal situation where you are, especially. I’m not, but you are, you lose patience a little bit quickly. Don’t forget the options United have in his position.
“Jadon for sure can play in other positions.. but there’s no space anymore…That’s a problem you want to have as a manager to be honest. Everything will be fine for Jadon, but hopefully not on Sunday.”