Manchester United are on the verge of signing Alexis Sanchez after
Manchester City pulled the plug on their long pursuit of the Arsenal
forward.
The Chilean has been a subject of interest from Old Trafford since
the days of Sir Alex Ferguson, and United finally appear to have seen
off the advances of Pep Guardiola’s outfit to secure Sanchez’s services.
But how would Jose Mourinho fit the versatile 29-year-old into his
United side, and who might have to step aside for Alexis to figure in
the starting XI? Goal looks at the options below.
Given the make-up of the current United side, Mourinho may be most
tempted to use Sanchez from the right of a 4-2-3-1 to begin with. Both
Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are far more comfortable playing
from the left of attack than the right, so while Sanchez has spent much
of his time at Arsenal coming off that side it would suit United most if
they were to play him on the right side which he came off for long
periods of his Udinese and Barcelona days.
The inclusion of Sanchez off the right would complicate things for
Juan Mata, who has made the right-sided slot his own this season, making
14 of his 15 Premier League starts so far as a wide player. The
Spaniard’s artistry has helped to mix up United’s attacking threat at
times, so Mourinho may overlook this option if he wants a more varied
offensive approach unless he considers Mata as an alternative to Jesse
Lingard in the number 10 role.
Sanchez has spent much of his Arsenal career as a left-sided
attacker, with the ability to come in off the flank onto his favoured
right foot being a key weapon. But when compared to his 30-goal season
last term as a largely central threat, the Alexis Sanchez of 2017-18 has
been slightly underwhelming.
Mourinho may decide that the danger he poses when cutting in off
the left is the greatest boost to United, but that would leave both
Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford facing the possibility of having to
re-tool their armoury. Martial in particular has been in fantastic form
off the left for most of this season, while Rashford’s best form has
also come off that wing. While the use of Sanchez off the left would
hardly be like placing a square peg in a round hole, it could create
exactly that sort of dilemma elsewhere in the forward line.
A 30-goal season from a central attacking position in 2016-17 must
not be overlooked when assessing Alexis’ best fit for United, and as
such he must be considered as an option for the number 10 role. Jesse
Lingard has, of course, been United’s form player of late with his eight
goals in 10 games coming from the role just behind main striker Romelu
Lukaku, but Mourinho needs to plan for the long term with Sanchez and
should not be deterred from making an unpopular change if he believes
that the Chilean will provide the greater threat.
Given the investment made in Lukaku over the summer and the faith
placed in the Belgian since his arrival, not to mention Mourinho’s
long-held belief in a natural spearhead in the centre of attack, it is
highly unlikely that the manager would choose Sanchez as a false nine.
But the use of the former Barcelona man just off the main striker would
still give him the opportunity to run at centre-backs with potentially
the same success he had last season with Arsenal.
Another chance to use Sanchez in a more central position may well
present itself when Mourinho reverts to a three-man defensive line. The
Portuguese boss has regularly changed his team’s shape when coming up
against a trio at the back since taking over at Old Trafford, and he is
likely to continue making such an alteration when the opportunity arises
going forward.
The main drawback with using a 3-5-2 is the lack of places
available for United’s wealth of attacking players and the use of
Sanchez just off Romelu Lukaku in such a system would reduce the
opportunities to include the likes of Rashford, Martial, Lingard and
Mata.
However as an occasional one-off option Mourinho could well use
this shape and rely on the quality of Alexis, along with the freedom
allowed by the five-man midfield, to give the Red Devils a different
kind of attacking potency.