[ad_pod ]
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
Amid all the talk about Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku this summer, one man who has seemingly gone under the radar at Old Trafford is Alexis Sanchez. The Chile international was off at the Copa America as he bid to banish memories of a disappointing campaign in Manchester, but is likely to return to the Red Devils after his holiday break.
The 30-year-old hasn’t exactly enjoyed the best of times since his move from Premier League rivals Arsenal, but it appears he may still have a chance to salvage his career. As quoted by Sky Sports, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has thrown an olive branch out to the much-maligned forward and insisted that the £350k-a-week star can still come good.
Check out the below above to see football played as you’ve never seen it before… in a maze!
The Norwegian said: “There’s a top, top player there and if we can get him firing, he can get us 20 goals easily. We know what he’s capable of and we – me with Alexis and the team – have to find a way to get that out of him.
“He’s had such a fantastic time at Arsenal and we want to find him scoring goals at Old Trafford and that can give us an extra boost.”
Stroking his ego
As modern football gets more and more bogged down in the world of tactics and formations, sometimes all a player needs to thrive is an arm around the shoulder and a pat on the back.
Despite being a versatile forward at Arsenal, perhaps the main reason Arsene Wenger was able to get the best out of his mercurial Chilean was through his propensity to stand by his man through thick and thin.
Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below
The Frenchman constantly lauded him as being world-class and showered him with praise, publicly stroking the winger’s ego. It may have been over-the-top, but it certainly did the trick – he smashed in 80 goals in 166 games for the Gunners. At United, there has been no such preferential treatment and he has been lost in the shadows.
If Solskjaer wants to bring about a return to form for Sanchez, then he must treat him like a superstar. Roll out the red carpet, make sure his team recognises him as the side’s greatest attacking threat and simply allow him to express himself. Having him be a part of the “team” does not bring out the best in Sanchez; letting him be the individualistic maverick that he is, is the only way that United will see the 30-year-old get “20 goals easily”.
