Wrong move or wrong manager? Man Utd's key creator's first year at the club

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For Alexis Sanchez, the last 12 months have been a nightmare – and that’s putting it lightly.

Sanchez joined Manchester United from Arsenal in last year’s January transfer window with the expectation he would become the focal point of Jose Mourinho’s team.

The reality has been quite the opposite. Sanchez is more of a forgotten man than a leading man having scored just four goals in 32 appearances since moving to Old Trafford.

A year on from that transfer, which ended up being a swap deal involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan, it’s time to evaluate what exactly has gone wrong for Sanchez at United.

Why isn’t the Chilean having the same impact he provided at Arsenal? What’s the reason behind his paltry goal tally? Will he ever come good for the Red Devils?

With those questions in mind, we’ve looked into the stats and facts behind Sanchez’s nightmare year.

All too rare highlights

It’s safe to say memorable moments of the positive variety have been few and far between for Sanchez over the last 12 months. That said, he has shown his potential in bursts, coming up with moments of quality that will give United fans hope.

Sanchez’s best moment in a United shirt came this season against Newcastle at Old Trafford in October. The hosts found themselves 2-0 down with 20 minutes remaining, but Sanchez came off the bench to complete the 3-2 comeback in the final minute.

In doing so, he ended an 854-minute personal goal drought in the Premier League. Perhaps surprisingly, it didn’t match his longest drought in the competition; Sanchez once went 898 minutes without scoring for Arsenal.

Last season he came up with a big moment at Wembley, scoring the equaliser in United’s 2-1 FA Cup semi-final victory against Tottenham. That Sanchez ended up on the losing side in the final is indicative of his time at Old Trafford.

Arguably his best overall display since last January came in United’s remarkable comeback victory over Manchester City last term. Sanchez created three chances and provided two assists at the Etihad as United temporarily put a halt to City’s title party.

Regardless of the above, Sanchez’s promising moments in a United shirt have been all too rare.

Wrong move or wrong manager?

After Saturday’s victory against Brighton, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became the first ever Manchester United manager to win their opening six league matches in charge, further emphasising Jose Mourinho’s struggles at the club.

One of Mourinho’s major failings at Old Trafford was his inability to get the best out of his big names, including Paul Pogba and, of course, Sanchez. When Mourinho was sacked in December, Sanchez was forced to deny reports he had a wager on the Portuguese coach’s exit.

While that story may have been fabricated, there was clearly little love lost between Sanchez and his manager, with Mourinho repeatedly leaving the 30-year-old out of his starting line-up this season. What’s more, Sanchez has praised the impact Solskjaer has made since taking charge.

“The players are the same with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as they were with Mourinho, but now we are having more ­success in attack and we are defending better,” Sanchez said, according to the Mirror.

“The fact he has so much ­history with this club opens the way a lot when he speaks. His philosophy is to touch the ball a lot, to control the game and to score goals. You can tell that his position on the field as a player was as a forward, but he still wants us to take good care of our penalty area too. That’s the way you get better results.”

It sounds like Sanchez now has the manager he required from the beginning. However, an injury has prevented his game time from improving under Solskjaer so far. Time will tell whether Sanchez made the wrong move or Mourinho was simply the wrong coach for him.

Reasons to be hopeful

In the Premier League this season, Sanchez has provided more assists per 90 minutes (0.53) than any other United player. He has also created more chances per 90 (3.03) than any of this teammates.

Last season, only Mkhitaryan (2.71) and Juan Mata (2.38) created more chances per 90 minutes than Sanchez (2.24) for United in the Premier League. This term, in 11 league appearances Sanchez has attempted a total of 14 shots, including blocked efforts, managing seven on target but scoring just one goal.

Those statistics suggest Sanchez may be better suited to a creative role in the United team, rather than being the player expected to score the majority of the goals. Marcus Rashford’s recent goalscoring form lessens the need for Sanchez to find the net regularly – although it would certainly help his cause.

Despite Sanchez’s recent injury, Solskjaer has revealed the forward is eager to get back into the team and perform well for United, which can only be a positive going forward.

“He’s champing at the bit in training,” Solskjaer said, via the Mirror. “His attitude has been fantastic in training and I’m looking forward to seeing him, I’ve got loads of good players to choose from.”

Dream, realistic, wildcard, Squawka suggests: Where next for Sanchez?

There may be reasons to be hopeful about Sanchez’s future at United, but equally there is a possibility his days are numbered at Old Trafford. Things simply haven’t worked out and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Sanchez move on.

But where will Sanchez go if he chooses to leave United? Here are some suggestions.

Dream: Paris Saint-Germain

PSG are the club Sanchez has been linked with more than any other since his troubles at United began. Kylian Mbappe has refused to rule out a move to Real Madrid in the future, and the Ligue 1 giants will want a high-profile replacement should that happen.

Realistic: Serie A

Nowadays, it’s often the case that when a player has achieved all he can in England and Spain, he moves to Italy. Cristiano Ronaldo – a perfect example – being at Juventus would prevent the Italian champions from moving for Sanchez, but the likes of AC Milan and Inter Milan could be keen.

Wildcard: Real Madrid

If Sanchez fancies a return to Spain it’s unlikely to be with Barcelona, who are well stocked in attack. Real Madrid, on the other hand, have been found wanting going forward since Ronaldo’s exit. Would Sanchez risk the wrath of Barcelona’s supporters by joining their fiercest rivals?

Squawka suggests: Bayern Munich

With Arjen Robben set to leave Bayern this summer and Franck Ribery turning 36 in April, Bayern need replacements. Sanchez has also entered his 30s but only just, and a move to another European giant could be just what is needed to reinvigorate his career.

The post One year on: Alexis Sanchez’s nightmare 12 months at United appeared first on Squawka News.



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