When Manchester United acquired Alexis Sanchez in January 2018, it was supposed to be a major coup. A glossy announcement video, the No. 7 shirt and the highest wages in the Premier League (Sanchez is reported to earn a base salary of £300,000 a week, with add-ons that could push it to £500,000 a week); Sanchez was supposed to be a blue chip player.



Yes, there were questions as to what drove the deal, but even if Jose Mourinho was cramming a square peg into a round hole (as well as a thumb in Guardiola, Wenger and Conte’s eyes), with 60 Premier League goals and 25 assists in his previous four seasons, it was hoped Alexis the street-fighting forward would find a way to fit in at Manchester United. As this writer described the deal a year ago, “Manchester United are buying another layer of gold paint for the Bentley rather than dealing with the engine issues, but to be perfectly honest with you, I’m probably going to be impressed when the car...