Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth has dismissed suggestions that Jadon Sancho was forced out of Old Trafford.
Late on transfer deadline day, club officials negotiated a season-long loan deal for the winger to make the switch to Chelsea.
The development ended a saga that had lasted a year, Sancho and head coach Erik ten Hag initially being involved in a public spat that led to the player moving back to Borussia Dortmund on a temporary basis at the midway point of 2023-24.
Over the summer, the pair resolved their differences and Sancho was reintegrated back into the group during pre-season, only to be left out of the opening two Premier League squads.
That led to the quick progression of a transfer to Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea possessing an obligation to buy the 24-year-old for a fee between £20m and £25m next summer.
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Ashworth has his say on Sancho
Interviewed by Sky Sports News on a range of topics, Ashworth has given United's stance on how things panned out with their former £73m signing.
Although insisting that what transpired was a mutual decision between all parties, he acknowledged that Sancho had dropped down to fifth place in the pecking order.
Ashworth said: "I think with any player, whether it's Jadon, whether it's Scott [McTominay] or whether it's Aaron (Wan-Bissaka), if there's a preference that they would like to move and go to a new club and it's right for them and it's right for us, then you have to explore it.
"We felt we had enough depth in that particular position to be able to cover it, we've got four really good wide players, Jadon was a fifth, and it just enabled us to make that decision.
"If it was good for him and good for us it was something we were willing to consider."
Commenting on the previous disagreement with Ten Hag, he added: "Nothing to do with that. It was a decision that we made - if it's right for Jadon and it's right for us to move on. He wanted to explore the opportunity at Chelsea, like Scott wanted to explore the opportunity at Napoli, like Aaron wanted to explore the opportunity at West Ham.
"We're not in a position where we're kicking players out of the club."
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Which players were ahead of Sancho in the pecking order?
In the opening three matches of the season, Marcus Rashford has started each fixture, with Amad Diallo featuring from the opening whistle in the first two.
Alejandro Garnacho has been restricted to just the one start courtesy of arriving back late from representing Argentina at the Copa America.
Antony has only featured during the closing minutes of the 2-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Darren Plant
