Former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit has hammered Alexis Sanchez for the role he has played in the club’s downfall and named him as a serious problem for manager Jose Mourinho to sort out.
The Chilean forward arrived at Old Trafford in the January transfer window of 2018 from Arsenal as his contract with the Gunners entered its final six months, but he has failed to hit the heights that were expected of him.
Having started under half of the club’s games this season, regular Sky host and pundit Carragher has questioned whether the 29-year-old is over the peak of his performances and is set for a downward spiral, insisting his displays have put Mourinho under pressure.
He wrote in his column for the Telegraph: “Sanchez is the elephant in the room for Mourinho and all those United fans seeking to pin all the blame on executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
“There was once an expectation and anticipation Sanchez will deliver. Now there is hope. That is the point at which you know a world-class player has lost his aura. Sanchez is one of the many problems contributing to a difficult period in Manchester United’s history.
“Rather than seeking to blame others, Sanchez should be looking at himself. Arsenal fans seeing Sanchez toil at United will be the least surprised at how the move is turning out.The more I watch him in a Manchester United shirt, the more convinced I am his poor final year at Arsenal was not due to a declining team or loss of motivation
“We are not taking about a brief dip in form here. When it lasts this long, you have to be worried.”
Opinion
Carragher has not held back from tearing into Sanchez but a lot of the points that he makes hit the nail right on the head. Sanchez has been out of form for quite some time now and the question has to be asked as to whether he will ever rediscover his very best performances, or whether this is it for the Old Trafford faithful. If he really has peaked and is on his way down, then the Chilean is a massively expensive flop and another big money signing which will be kicked to the curb in the search for the return of the glory days at United. Mourinho needs to take a long, hard look at the winger and figure out how to motivate him to be the player that was expected when he signed back in January. If he cannot do that, then he is going to have a constant problem on his hands – unless they green light a shock exit for him either in January or next summer.