⚽️ Erik ten Hag Puts Jadon Sancho in Something More than Timeout

Good morning. The good news is that many Premier League teams will be in action midweek. The bad news is that the midweek action is almost solely in the League Cup, i.e., the trophy that none of the teams take seriously until they get to at least the quarterfinal of the bracket. So we’re a little gossip heavy today, but who doesn’t like some dirt?

In the email today:  

Manchester United are presently ninth in the Premier League table. They’re facing an uphill climb in their Champions League group after dropping their opener away to Bayern Munich last week. The Red Devils need all the help they can get. Apparently, though, United manager Erik ten Hag is through trying to pry anything out of former wonder kid Jadon Sancho.

• Sancho has been banned from using all first-team facilities at Manchester United's Carrington training ground amid an ongoing feud between Sancho and ten Hag.

• Sancho has been exiled from the first-team squad for refusing to apologize to ten Hag after Sancho created a social media post criticizing the manager.

• In that post, Sancho claimed he was being made a “scapegoat” after being dropped from the match day squad against Arsenal in early September.

• Sancho has since been relegated to training with the club's academy players.

• The situation has escalated, with Sancho now barred from using senior squad facilities including the dining room reserved for first team players.

Our take: If you ever went to high school, you probably remember a situation where a mouthy kid ran up against an insecure teacher. Inevitably, the teacher would over-punish the kid, and while you recognized that the punishment was over the top, you also knew the kid was always asking for it. Yeah…that’s this ten Hag/Sancho situation in a nutshell.

2) 💷 Arsenal, Perhaps an Elite Striker from Contending for the Title, May Be in on Ivan Toney

Mikel Arteta knows his team is close to toppling Manchester City for the Premier League crown. OK, maybe he just hopes so, but still. Arteta has already switched keepers. Arsenal’s midfield is excellent and their defense is really good. What do they lack? A bona fide striker. Those guys are hard to come by, but Arsenal may be locked in on a proven commodity just across town.

• Brentford's head coach, Thomas Frank, has indicated that the club would consider selling Ivan Toney if the right price is offered.

• Toney is currently serving an eight-month ban for violating league policy on sports betting, and will not be eligible to play until January 2024.

• Toney scored 20 goals in the Premier League last season.

• Frank conceded recently that Brentford is a "selling club" and would entertain offers for key players like Toney.

• Frank believes that Toney is one of the best strikers in the world and could thrive at a club like Arsenal, where he would be surrounded by elite supporting talent.

Our take: Probably the funniest part of the story we linked to was the suggestion that Chelsea might be in on Toney. Right, because overspending on players they “need” has served Chelsea so well lately. As for Arsenal’s interest, it’s probably contingent on whether the Gunners can stay within touching distance of City through the busy holiday period. If Arsenal is, say, 10 points behind City in January, buying Toney won’t make a lot of sense.

3) ❌ In Case You Wondered Exactly How Dominant Erling Haaland Really Is

4) 🗳️ What Is Your Position on the League Cup?

Have additional thoughts? Reply directly to this email to comment, and see if we include your response tomorrow.

5) 🔗 Links Roundup:

• 🏥 Arsenal appears to have dodged injury bullets to both Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard.

• 🔴 Former Liverpool superstar Xabi Alonso may be on Real Madrid’s short list to replace Carlo Ancelotti as manager.

• 👀 Julen Lopetegui, previously manager at Wolverhampton Wanderers, was a curious onlooker during Chelsea’s home defeat on Sunday.

• 💷 Speaking of Chelsea, it’s getting very late very early for £107M transfer acquisition Enzo Fernandez to, like, help out.

• 🎯 James Maddison was bemused by Bukayo Saka’s impression of his dart-themed goal celebration.

The newsletter today was written by Phil Keidel. Follow Phil on X @philkeidel.

Thanks for reading!