Reports coming out of Old Trafford is Manchester United regret signing attacking midfielder Alexis Sanchez. Since arriving at Manchester United, Sanchez has scored just one goal in four Premier League appearances. Despite the goal, some have criticised Sanchez’s play under Jose Mourinho.
According to the Mirror, Manchester United’s board have already admitted regret over adding the Chilean to the side. The Red Devils added Sanchez in January in a move that came out of nowhere. The signing took Sanchez away from Manchester United’s Premier League rivals Manchester City. Until the Red Devils added the midfielder, it looked likely that Manchester City would win the race for the player.
The Mirror reports that Spanish media outlet El Pais has revealed Manchester United are already showing buyer’s remorse. The media outlet stated the Red Devils top brass met with fellow Premier League executives and confessed they shouldn’t have signed Sanchez.
Sanchez has played seven matches for Manchester United in all competitions, and the Chilean has rarely made an impact on the matches. Sanchez’s most impressive performance was against Yeovil in the FA Cup, which coincidentally was his club debut.
Mourinho doesn’t play to Sanchez’s strengths, and the player who excelled at Arsenal and Udinese has struggled. Sanchez moved to Barcelona in 2011, and many fans will remember that the Chilean struggled at the Spanish side after playing well in Serie A.
According to El Pais, there are three reasons that the Manchester United board are regretful of signing Sanchez.
The first reasons is due to Manchester United signing Sanchez six months before he would have been a free agent. The club could have signed him for free and considerably less than they did. The club paid massive fees to agents and signing bonuses to land the Chilean in January.
Sanchez’s astronomical wages are said to be the second reason the club are upset it signed the player. Reports indicate other players, including Paul Pogba, now want their wages to be increased.
Finally, El Pais states Manchester United regret Sanchez’s signing due to his age. The player is now 29 and his addition means there is little chance the club can sell him on and make a profit in the future.
Manchester United’s board are now questioning whether they did the right thing in adding Sanchez to the team.
While media outlets are reporting Manchester United regret signing Sanchez, former player Ryan Giggs has come out in support of the player. In an interview with Sky Sports, Giggs talk about the quality of Sanchez.
“He’s a top player,” Giggs said. “He’s only scored one goal so far, so I’m sure he’d want to do better than that, but I think he’s done okay.
“His team-mates are still trying to find out what he likes, what he doesn’t like, the dynamics of the team. Sometimes it fits straight away, sometimes it takes a bit of time.
“I don’t think anyone should be worried about Alexis Sanchez, he’s a top, top player.”
Manchester United play Crystal Palace on Monday before taking on arch rivals Liverpool in the Premier League.