Manchester United are looking at Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Robert Sanchez as a cheaper alternative to Inter Milan star Andre Onana this summer, according to Daily Mail.
The Red Devils are on the search for a new first-choice goalkeeper with David de Gea’s contract having expired. Onana is the priority target and talks are currently ongoing with Inter Milan.
United recently made a verbal offer of €45 million (£38.5m) for the 27-year-old, but the Nerazzurri are reluctant to sell their prized asset for less than €60m (£51.4m).
Amidst this, Daily Mail claim that Sanchez has been identified as a cheaper alternative as he is a good passer of the ball. Brighton will listen to offers of around £30m.
Sanchez has already represented Spain at the international level, but the 25-year-old is regarded as a home-grown player, having been at Brighton since the age of 15.
Man Utd should look at a better alternative target
Sanchez had a pass accuracy of 75 per cent in the Premier League last season, but he was dropped by manager Roberto De Zerbi during the back end of the campaign.
More than one-third of Sanchez’s passes were long last term. In comparison, Jason Steele, who replaced him, was prepared to take risks with short passes against the press.
Steele fared much better than Sanchez with a pass accuracy of 88 per cent. He also registered double the number of shot-creating actions with his ability to go direct as well.
Despite Steele’s displays, Brighton have signed a young goalkeeper in Bart Verbruggen from Anderlecht. Sanchez is now the third-choice keeper for the Seagulls under De Zerbi.
In our opinion, United must avoid pursuing a deal for Sanchez. He is prone to making errors against high-pressing teams and tends to lose possession with inaccurate long balls.
He won’t be much of an upgrade on De Gea. Steele, who will turn 33 next month, is a better shot-stopper than Sanchez which is a damning indictment of the Spaniard’s goalkeeping ability.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
