Manchester United boss Solskjaer says he won't 'spoon feed' Sanchez

Posted Wednesday, July 17, 2019 by Goal.com

The Chilean has been a disappointment since joining the club from Arsenal, and could yet depart Old Trafford this summer

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said he will not "spoon feed" Alexis Sanchez as the Chilean looks to get his Manchester United career back on track.

Sanchez has mostly disappointed since joining United from Arsenal in January 2018, coming over in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan move in the other direction.

The 30-year-old has scored just five total goals in 45 appearances for United, including only one goal in the Premier League last season.

Sanchez has been linked with an exit from Old Trafford this summer, but his massive salary of £500,000 per week will make any transfer difficult.

Solskjaer, though, didn't reveal much when asked if he was planning on having Sanchez at Old Trafford this season, saying: "At the moment, yes I am."

The manager was then asked if he thought it was possible for Sanchez to get back to his best, and he again demurred.

"I will have to help, but you can't spoon feed them," Solskjaer said. "They've got to come in and grab their chances.

"Alexis is quality and he showed it in Copa America. Then he got his injury. I don't think it's too bad so I'm hoping he will be available for maybe Kristiansund [on July 30] or AC Milan [four days later] so he will at least get some football before the season starts."

After scoring two goals in the tournament's first five games, Sanchez suffered a hamstring injury in Chile's 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the Copa America third-place playoff earlier this month.

Sanchez is not the only player who may depart Old Trafford this summer, with Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku among a host of other names to be linked with an exit from the club.

Solskjaer said he wanted to give Pogba a "new challenge" with United after the France star spoke out about his desire to leave last month.

Lukaku has been linked with a move to Inter and though Solskjaer didn't deny the potential sale, he insisted that United would need a backup plan for it to happen.

"If we sell players we will have to replace them," Solskjaer said.