Why Alexis Sanchez would have been perfect for Manchester United

Alexis Sanchez

After Alexis Sanchez destroyed England on Friday night, the Mirror revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson could have brought the Chilean winger to Manchester United twice before he signed for Barcelona. The 24-year-old scored twice at Wembley in the friendly and seems to have blossomed this season into the player which persuaded Barcelona to spend a large amount of money on him in 2011.

Whilst his first two seasons showed promise in abundance, it was not until this year that Sanchez could be truly classed as a player capable of lighting up the world stage on a regular basis and leave Manchester United fans ruing their club’s inability to bring the Chilean to their club.

In a season which the Red Devils’ fans have often bemoaned their side’s wide options, Sanchez has been a perpetual threat for Barcelona. In nine league appearances for the Catalan club, he has scored seven goals to make himself the second highest goalscorer in Tata Martino’s squad – only Lionel Messi has struck more times and even the four-time Ballon d’Or winner has just one more goal to his name that Sanchez.

Moreover, the 24-year-old’s excellence is shown in his Performance Score this season. Whilst Sanchez’s total of 381 is just the 10th best in the Barcelona squad, it is higher than any Manchester United player and greater than the Red Devils’ wingers combined. This is damning evidence of how badly David Moyes’ side need a player of the ilk of Sanchez.

In addition, the Chilean has shown so far this season that he is more creative than any of the options which Moyes currently has at his disposal. Sanchez has created 10 chances, this is more than any of Manchester United’s wingers; add this to the pace and excitement which the attacker’s forceful style injects into a game, and he could have offered something different and something effective to Moyes’ side.

It is apparent that Sanchez would have been a fantastic signing for Manchester United had their £27 million offer been successful; his goal scoring ability, coupled with his creative, explosive style, is superior to any of the Red Devils’ wingers and these statistics will cause much frustration to United fans who want their team to be given that extra little something in order to further their current good run.