How Mourinho's Alexis Sanchez plan risks falling apart at Man Utd

Questions remain as to the exact motivation behind the January signing, but whatever the main driver, it is a deal which has gone sour very quickly

When Newcastle United attempted to sign Wayne Rooney from Everton in 2004, Sir Alex Ferguson knew he had to pounce.

The legendary Manchester United manager had hoped to make a move further down the line for the England prodigy but was forced into doing a deal ahead of his planned date, paying £27 million ($48.6m) for a player who would become the club’s record goalscorer over the next 13 years.

To some, Jose Mourinho’s decision to usurp Manchester City and snap up Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez in January 2018 was a similar move. Just as Ferguson couldn’t afford for Sir Bobby Robson’s challengers to get their hands on the man of the moment, the Portuguese did not want Pep Guardiola to sign perhaps the Premier League’s most explosive forward.

But whereas Ferguson had been keen to nail down Rooney’s signature sooner or later, United’s sudden interest in Sanchez came after a long pursuit of the Chile international by the team on the other side of town.

The city could easily have made their move the previous summer with United just standing by and watching, leading many to wonder whether the Red Devils' late swoop was far more about stopping City than it was about finding Sanchez to be the right fit.

Add in the fact that United already had Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford vying for a spot on the left-hand side of the attack and there were plenty questioning the wisdom of the decision to commission a deal worth almost £400,000 per week for an apparent afterthought.

“Alexis is one of the best-attacking

players in the world and he will complete our very young and talented group of attacking players,” Mourinho said after United had confirmed the coup, which also saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan depart for the Emirates Stadium.

“He will bring his ambition, drive and personality, qualities that make a Manchester United player and a player that makes the team stronger and the supporters proud of their club dimension and prestige.”

But eight months on, Sanchez has so far delivered few of those attributes and far too rarely. He has netted just three times in 23 appearances and tallied only seven assists over the same period, with two of those coming on his United debut at Yeovil Town in the FA Cup.