Man Utd News: Solskjaer opens up on Alexis Sanchez’s future at Old Trafford following his horrific run at the club since his arrival 18 months ago.
It was only 18 months back when Manchester United entered a bidding war with neighbours Manchester City to land the Chilean star. However, after the highs of January 2018, everything has gone downhill for both the club and the player.
Also read: Matthijs De Ligt has arrived in Turin to finalise his move to Juventus
United underwent a string of losses parallel to Sanchez’s own loss of form. The Red Devils so a slight surge in form late last year. There was no such redemption for the Chile international however.
Sanchez only managed two goals last season and played the whole 90 minutes once. The former Arsenal star fared a lot better for his country though, scoring two goals in the recently concluded Copa America before pulling out of the tournament with another hamstring injury.
With Solskjaer looking to rebuild his side following the disaster of the previous season, it was believed that Sanchez would not feature in the Norwegian’s plans for the future. However, Manchester Evening News have reported that Solskjaer has admitted that the forward indeed has a place at United. He will have to fight for his place like the others though.
When asked if he intended Sanchez to be at the club, Solskjaer responded by saying:
“At the moment, yes I am.”
He then added:
“I’ve just answered a question here that you can’t spoon feed them. They’ve got to come in and grab their chances.”
“And Alexis is quality and he showed it in the Copa America. Then he got his injury. I don’t think it’s too bad, so I’m hoping he will be available for maybe Kristiansund or AC Milan, so he will at least get some football before the season starts.”
“The way we hope we are going to play, it doesn’t have to be a 6ft4 striker, so Alexis can be part of that forward line.”
How much of Alexis staying at the Old Trafford is in Solskjaer’s hands though. The Chilean forward earns a massive £400,000 a week at Old Trafford. A wage bill that not many other clubs can pick up from United. Meaning the clubs hands are forced, at least until 2022, when his contract expires.
When Solskjær and many club sources said this would be our biggest ever rebuild, I think they forgot to mention that no club would want to pay Phil Jones £6m a year, Marcos Rojo £8m a year or Alexis Sanchez £20m+ a year etc. It’s so amateurish how our club have dealt with wages.
— The Man Utd Way (@TheManUtdWay) July 8, 2019
Hopefully, Sanchez will come good and show his quality; sooner rather than later. Doing so, will not only him but even the club and its supporters. Three years is a long time to turn things around. One, can therefore keep hope. However, three years will seem even longer for everyone if the Chilean doesn’t.
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