Erik ten Hag maintains sending Jadon Sancho away from the Manchester United first-team picture was the right decision and believes he's now "in a better place".
The forward returned to action recently having spent an extended period undergoing a specific training programme. It meant he was unavailable for selection, but Sancho is now back and pushing for selection after his equalising goal in midweek against Leeds.
Prior to that Sancho hadn't played in the Premier League since October with Ten Hag making do with his other forward options. The Dutchman has now challenged the England international to stake his claim for more first-team involvement after his spell away.
He told Sky Sports: "He's growing. He's definitely in a better place than two or three months ago. When he was away from the team, I think it was the right decision from him to do it.
"He worked hard on himself and now he is back. Now he has to find himself back in the team. That has to go step-by-step, now he's coming from the bench, so I hope he can make the next steps."
Sancho's strike against Leeds was his fourth of the campaign as he battles to become a regular. His big money move from Borussia Dortmund just over 18 months ago bought with it huge expectation, but the player has been somewhat inconsistent since returning to England.
The likes of Marcus Rashford, Antony and Anthony Martial have been regularly chosen by Ten Hag with Alejandro Garnacho also an option Sancho must contend with. Ten Hag was full of praise for his player following his midweek cameo.
He said: “I think it's in his own hands. So if he wants, he can do - and this team is great to play in. It will give you joy but I really enjoy seeing him play the way he did with so much confidence, with so much belief, really direct. It was great to see him play in this attack.
“It's clear it's a difficult period that he finds himself out of. I'm pleased and I'm proud he did it. So I will back him, the coaches will back him, the team is backing him and supporting him in this process and finally he has to do it by himself.”
Sancho underlined his happiness after returning and scoring on in the league earlier this week as he wrote on social media: "I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed this feeling! Team showed great character to stay in the game, we go again on the weekend."
