Just-in: Sanchez makes Inter move permanent with three-year deal
Manchester United forward, Alexis Sanchez, has left the club on a free transfer to join Inter Milan on a three-year deal.
Sanchez, who has been on loan at Inter since August 2019, will receive a small pay-off from United after agreeing to waive the final two years of his £560k-per-week contract.
Alexis Sanchez has joined Inter Milan from Manchester United on a three-year deal.
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 6, 2020
Sanchez’s departure brings to an end his disappointing two-and-a-half-year spell at Old Trafford. After arriving in a swap deal involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Arsenal, he went on to score just five goals in 45 games for United.
After confirming Sanchez’s exit, a United statement read: “Everyone at Manchester United wishes Alexis Sanchez all the best in his future career as he joins Inter Milan on a permanent transfer.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer addressed Sanchez’s move following United’s win over LASK in the Europa League on Thursday, saying: “They’ve liked him, so of course that’s a good move for him.
“Wish him all the best. He’s a top player that we want to see play his best football. For whatever reason we didn’t see the best of Alexis, but he’s a top professional and we just wish him all the best.”
Sanchez started life at Inter slowly, in part due to injury, but he was one of their most impressive performers after the restart, scoring three goals and assisting seven more as Inter secured second place in Serie A.
Sanchez’s move to Inter means United’s iconic No 7 shirt is once again available.
Incidentally, that is also the number worn by Jadon Sancho, who United are keen to sign from Borussia Dortmund this summer.
Speaking in August 2019 upon his move to Inter Milan, Sky Sports’ Gary Neville was brutal in his assessment of the Chilean’s time at Old Trafford…
“I thought he would be a forward who would play all across the line, who scored goals and was tenacious, but Sanchez has been an absolute disaster. I have no idea what’s happened to him. There must be two of them. No one could have foreseen the disaster that was about to happen with Alexis Sanchez.
“I don’t know what happened to him. That wasn’t the Alexis Sanchez that played at Arsenal. He wasn’t old when United signed him. He’d been proven. We knew United would get only a couple of years out of him, I know his wages were massive.
read also:Man Utd agree deal with Inter for Alexis Sanchez
“But my point is, no one could have foreseen how bad he would be for the club.”
‘This was no slow decline. Sanchez had been named Arsenal’s player of the year just eight months prior to joining United but proceeded to struggle from the outset. Burnout was offered as an explanation but after his first summer off in years his form deserted him entirely.
‘How did one of the Premier League’s most exciting players become its biggest bust?’