When Manchester United signed Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal during the January transfer window in 2018, seeing Henrikh Mkhitaryan travel in the other direction, it should have been something that worked well for the club, but it didn’t. It has never really worked. Sanchez has been earning a massive wage, doing a lot less for that money than expected.
During the summer and into 2020, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer started to apply his brand of football to the club, seeing the back of Romelu Lukaku, Matteo Darmian, Ashley Young, all on permanent moves and Marcos Rojo, Chris Smalling and Sanchez all leaving on loan. It is expected that there might be a few more departures when the transfer window opens.
Whilst playing for United, Sanchez has not done enough to even warrant being selected as part of the squad for the season, let alone wearing a shirt number as prestigious as the one he was given on arrival, the famous number seven, playing 45 times in around one and a half seasons, scoring just five goals and assisting a further nine.
This season at Inter, Sanchez has played 15 times, scoring one goal, assisting a further three. It seems clear that this player on a galactic wage is not performing to the standards that he should be performing. Granted, he has missed 14 matches through injury, which could have seen him play more of a part for the Italian club.
Sanchez is contracted at United for a further two more years and reports suggest that the player is reluctant to accept a pay cut to get a move elsewhere, so unless something big happens, it is likely that Sanchez will be back at United next season, which is something that many will not want to see. Some suggest that he should be given a second chance.
Personally, I do not think he has done enough to warrant a second chance at United. He has never really bust a gut to perform and his loan spell to Inter, which was to serve as something to revive his ailing career, has not worked out as many thought. West Ham United could be interested, taking advantage of the current pandemic to get a good deal for Sanchez.
Right now, looking at the team Solskjaer seems to be building, I don’t see many chances for Sanchez moving forward. He’s had a good career but is clearly coming to the end of that now, which along with all his injuries, is pretty telling. Whilst at United, he missed 20 matches due to injury. I wish it could all be different but United’s identity has changed now.
With the way things have gone for Sanchez at United and the fact that Solskjaer clearly does not seem to want the player at the club as part of his new squad, there might not be a second chance for him to resurrect his career at the club. Personally, I feel he has not done enough to warrant a place in the squad and that the club should look to get rid.
Perhaps, if they cannot move him on a permanent deal to pastures new, like West Ham, who seem interested, United should be looking to loan him out, perhaps with a deal that the club he is loaned to compulsory purchase him either in the following winter transfer window or the following summer, if the transfer windows are not changed because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Do you think Alexis Sanchez deserves another chance to shine at Manchester United?
