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Alexis Sanchez, after months of speculation, has finally left North London for Manchester but not to the blue half of the city as first expected.
Sanchez, 29, had been heavily tipped to join former manager Pep Guardiola at Manchester City in the summer after his contract entered its final year, but Jose Mourinho and Manchester United stole a march on their city rivals recently and now the Chilean’s move to Old Trafford is finally complete.
Many are already hailing the deal for Sanchez, which includes Henrikh Mkhitaryan heading in the other direction in what is a straight swap deal, as a brilliant signing, especially as it’s at Manchester City’s expense so to speak.
So what can the Chilean add to a United side that currently find themselves second in the league, 12 points adrift of City? Can he be the spark the need to get them closer to the level that Pep Guardiola’s men are currently playing at?
First of all what you get with Sanchez is a player who cannot only play wide on either side or centrally, you get a player who will always contribute wherever he plays, be it through goals, assists or both.
Looking at his Premier League record alone he has managed to hit 60 goals, setting up 27 through assists, from just 122 games. Sanchez is a player who always delivers and in a United side that at times misses that spark in the final third, he could be crucial in any success they have.
While you could say winning the league this season is likely to be beyond Mourinho’s men, they’re still in the Champions League and the FA Cup. Sanchez is eligible to take part in both of these competitions for United and will certainly strengthen their chances of picking up some silverware come the end of the season.
He’ll also give United a great chance of mounting a proper title challenge next season too, especially if Mourinho adds further quality to his squad. Sports betting fans may now want to take the opportunity to have small wager on Mourinho doing the double! Betting.com’s vast directory of online betting sites is the perfect place to select a reputable bookmaker with the best prices and markets.
The Chilean is likely to play in of the three berths behind striker Romelu Lukaku and with the likes of inform Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford all vying for places; Mourinho is certainly spoilt for choice when it comes to attacking talent in the final third of the pitch.
Sanchez will be just as adept at scoring goals as he will be for making them for teammates, and it would come as no surprise if he played as the central striker at times too.
In a few occasions this season, one being against Liverpool at Anfield, United looked desperate for a player who could make something happen.
At Arsenal he was responsible at times for changing draws into wins, for picking up points by himself for the team and this is another reason why Alexis Sanchez can be the answer in United’s quest for success, not just this season, but in the future too.
