Chris Sutton has slammed Jadon Sancho’s ‘pathetic behaviour’ at Manchester United but believes he will be at the club for longer than Erik ten Hag, despite returning to Borussia Dortmund.

The 23-year-old officially re-joined the German club on loan until the end of the season, just two years after joining United from Dortmund in a £73million deal.

The move ends a miserable season for Sancho, who made the last of his three appearances in late August following a public fall-out with ten Hag.

United will receive a £3m loan fee plus up to £3.4m in bonuses based on the number of appearances Sancho makes and Dortmund’s qualification for the Champions League.

Chris Sutton believes Jadon Sancho (right) will outlast Erik ten Hag (left) at Manchester United, despite returning to Borussia Dortmund on loan until the end of the season

The 23-year-old made the last of his three appearances this season back in August

Sutton told It’s All Kicking Off that the points of the deal suggested Sancho will be returning in summer

Significantly, however, there is is no option for the Bundesliga club to re-sign Sancho permanently in the summer.

And Sutton, speaking on the latest episode of Mail Sport’s It’s All Kicking Off! podcast with Dominic King, suggested the terms of the loan deal pointed to Sancho returning to Old Trafford in the summer.

‘There’s no agreement to sell on, I suspect Sancho will outlast Ten Hag at Manchester United,’ he said.

‘It’s ended like this, but I suspect he’ll be back at Manchester United and if Ten Hag carries on the way he’s going, I suspect he’ll be off at the end of the season.’ 

Ten Hag’s future has been under the microscope for most of the season with his team badly regressing after the Dutchman enjoyed a promising debut campaign at Old Trafford.

United are eighth in the Premier League having already lost nine of their 20 matches, finished bottom of their Champions League group and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle.

There has been speculation ten Hag could be replaced once Sir Jim Ratcliffe completes his partial takeover and his INEOS group formally takes control of football operations.

United and the British billionaire announced on Christmas Eve he had agreed a £1.3billion deal to acquire a minority stake in the club after 13 months of negotiations.

Sancho rejoined Dortmund on loan until the end of the season on Thursday

The 23-year-old said he was looking forward to return to playing with a ‘smile on my face’

But while ten Hag’s future may be under cloud, Sutton insisted the Dutchman had handled the spat with Sancho well. 

‘I think you have a player there, a talented young player who, for whatever reason, thinks he’s bigger than the club, bigger than Manchester United.

‘And what he did to Ten Hag on social media was utterly ridiculous. It was pathetic.’

King echoed Sutton’s comments, suggesting Sancho’s behaviour illustrated  ‘everything that’s wrong with modern football’ and questioned United’s decision to hold onto him.

‘I just think how can a player challenge a manager the way that he did and potentially still be a Manchester United player?,’ he said. 

‘What if I was a Manchester United fan and I was looking at that? I wouldn’t want him at my club. I wouldn’t want that type of character at my club.’

Ten Hag explained ahead of the game against Arsenal in September that Sancho had not been included in the squad due to poor training performances, only for the player to insist he had been ‘made a scapegoat’ on social media.

Ten Hag’s future lies under a cloud of uncertainty with Sir Jim Ratcliffe yet to complete his part takeover of the club

Sutton, however, insisted Sancho should not have reacted publicly. 

‘A manager is entitled to call his players out if he feels that that’s the right thing to do,’ he said.

‘I don’t always agree with it, but a player has a responsibility in that moment to know how to react and reacting publicly was the wrong thing to do. 

‘The best thing to do is prove it. Keep your head down, prove it on the training ground and work hard.’