Ten Hag, though, had become increasingly exasperated with Sancho’s punctuality and what he perceived as sluggishness in training. This has also not gone unnoticed by his team-mates, some of whom share the manager’s sense of frustration.

After Sancho’s retort on social media, United were prepared to sanction a permanent exit away from Old Trafford, with the transfer windows still open in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Saudi clubs were told of a £65million ($81.3m) asking price for a player who joined United in July 2021 for £73m. Approaches for him to leave the club, however, were knocked back by Sancho and his representatives.

The issues at United date back to last season, when newly-appointed Ten Hag and his coaches tried to get Sancho to arrive on time by setting him a schedule at least one hour earlier than the rest of the squad. This tactic had some initial success, before Sancho fell into familiar patterns

One source close to Dortmund noted that although “Jadon was mentally tough on the pitch” he could be “quite childish and unprofessional with little things”. Occasionally missing team meetings or oversleeping were viewed as problematic. It got to the point where Edin Terzic, Lucien Favre’s assistant at Dortmund, would personally knock on Sancho’s hotel room door to pick him up before meetings.