Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said that Alexis Sanchez continues to remain a key player in the first-team squad and he is looking forward to the Chilean performing on the field.
The 30-year-old has failed to impress since joining the Red Devils in the winter of 2018, contributing just five goals from 45 appearances across all competitions.
As such, a recent story from The Sun claimed that Solskjaer is prepared to banish the attacker to the reserves with the view to sanctioning his sale, but the Norwegian has now publicly rebuffed the speculation.
In a report covered by United’s official website, Solskjaer stressed that Sanchez remains a valuable member of the squad and he expects the Chilean to come good, particularly with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial being the only other senior options for the centre-forward role.
“He comes in every single day, working really hard, and he wants to be a part of this. Of course, there have been [media] stories again, [saying] that he has been put in the Reserves. Of course he hasn’t!,” he said.
“We don’t have the biggest forward line in [terms of] numbers, so Alexis might end up playing a lot more games than you expect. Because we expect him to come good at this club. He’s quality.”
Solskjaer has already emphasised the focus on a fluidic frontline following the departure of Romelu Lukaku and Sanchez offers the versatility of featuring across different attacking positions.
Still, he has yet to justify his hefty wages with his inconsistent performances where he has been regularly dispossessed and it remains to be seen whether he can redeem himself when he returns to regular action.
Sanchez is currently on an individual training programme after his comeback from a hamstring problem sustained at the Copa America earlier in the summer.
No exact return date has been revealed but judging by Solskjaer’s comments, the 30-year-old may probably feature after the first international break of the season, provided there are no surprises.
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