Manchester United legend Paddy Crerand has identified the position to get the best out of Alexis Sanchez at Old Trafford.
Jose Mourinho sanctioned the deal to sign Sanchez from Arsenal in a direct swap involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan joining the north London outfit in the January transfer window. Sanchez is believed to be the best-paid player at Old Trafford, but the Chilean has struggled to make the same kind of impact as he had during his best times at Arsenal.
Mourinho has been confident that Manchester United will see the best of the winger this season, but his start to the campaign has been lacklustre. The attacker was more in the game during Manchester United’s win over Burnley on Sunday and provided the assist for Romelu Lukaku’s first goal at Turf Moor.
Crerand believes rather than playing wide, Sanchez is more suited to the role behind the striker as the attacker loves being in the thick of things when on the pitch.
The Manchester United legend said on MUTV’s The Paddy Crerand Show: “I think playing just behind the centre-forward.
“He is one of those players wholove to remain involved in the game.
“The number of times you will see him drop near the 18-yard line to defend and the next moment he is up in the middle of the play.
“That’s the way he is going to play and I don’t know how you stop that.
“He loves playing football and wants to be part of the action all the time.”
Sanchez has netted three goals and provided five assists in 21 appearances for Manchester United thus far.