Sir Alex Is Missing Out On A Potential Superstar

I can’t help but think the signing of Ashley Young means a real opportunity lost to acquire a player who is set to be one of the finest in today’s game.

The Chilean international Alexis Sanchez has recently completed a season with Udinese in which was one of the most illustrious in the club’s history.

Predominantly a winger by trade Sanchez has been effective in a more forward role for the Italian team, sharing 35 goals with Antonio Di Natale and voted Italian player of the year in the process. Since, he has been constantly linked with moves to City, Barcelona and, inevitably, United.

If the Red’s were to make a move for Sanchez of course they should expect a challenge to sign him. The fact is there has been no deal made with City to be a potential replacement for Carlos Tevez and the European Champions have recently lodged another bid for Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas.

Barca’s persuit of the Spanish ‘lynch-pin’ reveals Sanchez perhaps is not top of their wish list meaning Sir Alex may have been able to ‘swoop’ with a deal quickly while they are preoccupied with Fabregas. We should not forget in January the Catalans’s obtained the services of tricky Dutch wide man Ibrahim Afellay, who I deem to be a very talented player and would have liked to see him at Old Trafford.

We should have no fear in entering a transfer battle with our noisy neighbours despite their billions. City are able to outbid and out pay us but surely the lure of playing for the most successful team in English football would hopefully overhaul that.

Ashley Young’s move from Aston Villa has grabbed a lot of attention because of the excitement that an English talent has joined the best club in the country. No doubt Young is a talented player but in my opinion, he will struggle to hold down a regular place within the team in front of Nani and Antonio Valencia. Those two being my first choices to occupy the wings. I’m delighted with the high completion within the squad because injuries may arise similar to Valencia’s broken ankle early last season against Rangers. I’m sure Young can improve and mature into one of the team’s top players but I don’t consider him to be an improvement on what we already have.

Yet with the price being so high and with the arrivals of Phil Jones, soon to be new number one David De Gea and a probable addition in midfield, its obvious money is hardly an issue for the Glazer’s this summer. Young hardly came cheap at around £20 million with a hefty weekly wage. Therefore, surely spending an extra £10 million on Sanchez wouldn’t have been that difficult?

Sanchez has impressed me ever since last summer during the most dull World Cup of all time. During a tournament which saw so many top names fail to reach their potential, Sanchez looked a handful in what was not exactly the best team in the tournament. After seeing promising things from Sanchez in the World Cup, I watched him closely last season when he was in majestic form.

United may well still be in the market for him but it is doubtful seeing as no replacement has yet to be signed to fill the gap left by Paul Scholes, which is the priority signing of the summer alongside David De Gea. Nonetheless, there maybe a number of other reasons why the manager didn’t decide to pursue a deal for Sanchez ahead of Young, including his; attitude, reluctance to join a club in England or simply his love for Barcelona.

It appears the likes of Nani or Valencia would have to be sold if a move for Sanchez were to be made possible but I certainly hope that is not the case. Both players have improved immensely over the last season and contrasting types of wing player I believe is a combination no team in Europe has. As a result, it would be unfortunate to see one of them go and I don’t expect that to happen with both being tied down to long contracts.

Sanchez would have added something different in terms of a goal scoring wide player. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the only two in the world who I can think of to do that with such regularity.  I truly believe Sanchez has the ability to do that and grow into one of the world’s top talents, if he is not already. Unfortunately, it seems the signing of Young probably ends our interest in him, even if there ever was any in the first place.

About Joseph Maloney

A massive United fan, Joseph has been a season-ticket holder at Old Trafford for the past 5 seasons and is currently studying sports journalism at University. Hoping to succeed in the tough world of football media, Joseph will be writing more often on Can They Score in the coming months, as he hopes to express his passion for the club through his writing.

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