Lots of talk about the future of Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez the past few days, and with that, we’ve heard a lot of mixed messages. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Friday that the Chilean will be a part of the club’s plans this season, and that Alexis will “come good” at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile The Guardian claimed on Thursday that Inter Milan were growing confident that a season long loan deal for Sanchez would get done. And now it looks like it’s going to happen, and very soon.
The record Manchester United forward, and record-setter in salary, has agreed to personal terms to join Inter Milan, according to Italian football journalist Gianluca Dimarzio.
Another Italian football reporter, Fabrizio Romano of Sky Sports and The Guardian, just tweeted the following a little over an hour ago:
Confirmed: Inter are in talks with Man United for Alexis Sanchez. Loan until June 2020 + buy option for €15M. Part of the wage would be paid by Man Utd too. Alexis asked to the club and to Solskjaer to join Inter. Now it just depends by Man United decision. ?? #MUFC #transfers
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 18, 2019
According to the various reports, the ball is now in United’s court, and it’s up to them to decide if this deal is worth it or not. Sanchez would hypothetically be reunited with Romelu Lukaku, and thus the two players (both United forwards) who saw their transfer market value decrease the most in football (according to one study this summer) would now be reunited in Serie A.
In order to make it happen though, Old Trafford would have to subsidize some of his wages, so it’s time to weigh the options- pay somebody not to play for you or overpay someone who’s been a bust and obviously doesn’t want to stay on the team?
Another factor to consider is that with Lukaku gone and no replacement made, United are down a striker and that jettisoning Sanchez puts them down a winger. United’s strike force is very young, and it would certainly get a lot younger as the season goes on and injuries affect the final third, and you know they will because injuries are just an inevitable part of the game.
So there is a whole lot of for United to consider before pulling the trigger on an Alexis Sanchez sale, but there’s plenty of time. The transfer window doesn’t close in Italy (or Spain or Germany for that matter) until Sept. 2nd.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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