OPINION
Alexis Sanchez is not having a good time at Man United. That’s putting it mildly.
When he agitated for a move from Arsenal, people pointed to Arsene Wenger as the reason behind his decline.
But, in his latest column in the Telegraph, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has said the writing was on the wall way before his big-money transfer to United.
Carragher compared Sanchez to Torres at Chelsea, and said that Man City swerved a really expensive mistake thanks to their rivals hijacking their deal. And he’s bang on the money.
“Sanchez has not been the same player for longer than that. 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 as he prepared to leave,” Carragher wrote..
“Sanchez’s best years have gone. He is to Manchester United what Fernando Torres was to Chelsea.
“Sanchez had been destined for Manchester City the previous summer. It looked to be a one-horse race to sign the Chilean until Mourinho sensed an opportunity to show Guardiola how United can flex their financial muscle to pay what their rivals will not.”
Man City walked away from the deal as it started getting more and more expensive. It’s been reported that Sanchez is on £14million a year after tax. That’s looking like a disaster of a deal now, with Sanchez reportedly unhappy and looking for a way out from Old Trafford.
Sanchez has only started four league games this season and has only scored one goal – in his last outing against Newcastle.
That goal showed that, in flashes, he’s still got the ability to hurt teams.
But that is the exception rather than the norm now. Mourinho bought Sanchez as a first-team regular to hurt teams like that week-in, week-out.
Unfortunately, they seem to have bought a dud and we don’t buy that it’s Mourinho that’s dragging Sanchez down.
He was on the decline in his final year at Arsenal and the Wenger saga did well to hide this from prospective buyers.
That worked out well for Sanchez but not so well for Man United. Rather than prove who’s got the biggest financial muscle in town, it seems like United have taken a huge bullet for their city rivals. A very expensive one that will hurt the club for some time to come.