Bharath Rammr
Manchester United are believed to have cooled the interest on Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann after having been linked with the Frenchman for much of the last 12 months. Atletico Madrid’s transfer ban staying is one of the reasons for Griezmann’s U-turn. Even though United still have the option of activating his release clause in his contract, it appears that the player is also no longer interested in making the move to Old Trafford. As a result, it leaves us still with the need to find at least two centre-forwards in order to take on the mantle next season.
If Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney leave this summer, Marcus Rashford is the only recognised centre forward, and the young shoulders of the England international may not be sufficient to handle the rigours of four different competitions, as we have made a return to Champions League. Now, former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson has claimed that United should try and look within the Premier League in order to solve the striker crisis. He says that Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez would be a great signing for United.
Sanchez’ future continues to be under a major cloud of doubt with the player entering into the last 12 months of his contract. In the past, several Arsenal players have made the move to Manchester with the most prominent being Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri, Robin Van Persie, and Bacary Sagna. It would not be surprising to rule out another such transfer, especially with Arsenal being out of the Champions League next season. Robson said:
“His character is right, he is a tough player, really skilful, he works really hard and works hard. He can score goals and create goals.
“When you put all that package into one, he’s exactly the type that we would like here.
“Remember he has played at a club like Arsenal, where you’ve got to be able to handle pressure.
“I think he’s 100 per cent guaranteed.”
It was widely speculated that the uncertainty surrounding Arsene Wenger was the reason for Alexis Sanchez refusing to commit his future to Arsenal. Now, it seems that there are deeper problems between the player and the club. Sanchez is reportedly demanding around £300,000 per week (double of his current salary), while Arsenal negotiators are trying to bring that figure down. If these negotiations don’t go well, there is a good chance that the hard working Chilean may leave the North London club.
Sanchez may not be the physical centre forward like a Romelu Lukaku, but he is well versed with the Premier League. Since coming to the English football in the summer of 2014, Sanchez has been one of the best players. He has scored 53 goals in 103 appearances – which happens to be an extremely good record for a player who can also play on the wings.
