CAN you remember a standout performance from Alexis Sanchez since he joined Manchester United almost ten months ago?
He put in a decent second half showing against Manchester City at the Etihad last season, followed by the equaliser in the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham at Wembley. Isolated moments though.
Much, much more was expected from the Chilean, and with only three goals in the Premier League since January, recent reports have linked him with a move away from Old Trafford as early as this January.
It might not seem as bad if he wasn’t picking up a reported £505,000 per week, and on top of that, the best part of £75,000 each time he’s named in the starting XI.
But, if this really is the case, could you blame the United owners if they felt short changed and wanted him to move on?
Against Bournemouth at the weekend, we saw flashes of what he is capable of, setting up United’s equaliser, and running in behind, something Romelu Lukaku has appeared unwilling to do.
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4Sadly, his appalling goal record since his move up the M1 speaks for itself.
If United can free some funds up by offloading him to Paris in January, and use some of the savings they’d make to tie Anthony Martial and David De Gea to long-term deals, then that is what they must do.
If claims that the pair – and their agents – are refusing to agree to new deals unless they get something close to Sanchez's wages are true, then getting rid of the Chilean could definitely be in the best interests of the club.
De Gea and Martial both proved their worth on the South Coast on Saturday, and as a priority, United must now look to secure their future over the coming months, even if that’s at the expense of Sanchez.
Since Martial’s breakthrough season where he netted 14 times, we’ve seen periods of outstanding play from him, but also spells where he’s frustrated and often struggled to make even the bench.
His recent run though – scoring in the last four consecutive Premier League matches – proves that he is not just the man in form, but arguably United’s most dangerous attacking threat.
Lack of playing time and performance consistency isn’t something you could throw De Gea’s way, when since signing for Sir Alex Ferguson back in 2011, he’s gone from looking like a timid, incapable youngster, to the finest keeper on the planet.
Possibly even United’s greatest of all time.
There’s very few United fans that I’ve spoken with that would blame De Gea if he did decide to leave – he’s a player that deserves to be competing not only for domestic titles but the Champions League too, and United, as we know, are doing neither.
The way in which he responded to the disappointment of missing out on a move to Real Madrid in 2015 only strengthened the bond De Gea has with supporters and like Martial, albeit for different reasons, many fans would be sad to see him leave.
If Sanchez moved on, that wouldn’t necessarily be the case.
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