Premier League
AT LAST, MANCHESTER UNITED OFFLOADS SANCHEZ INTO INTER MILAN
It’s a huge relief to Manchester United’s Manager and the club’s hierarchy as the club finally got Alexis Sanchez off their books after Inter Milan agreed to sign the Chilean winger permanently.
Sanchez’s career at Manchester United hasn’t worked out following his move in January 2018
According to Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera, Inter’s sporting director Beppe Marotta has agreed on a deal with United, which will see the Serie Aside part with £13.5million for him.
The report also suggests that the move will be announced after Inter’s Europa League clash with Getafe on Wednesday – in which he was named in the Serie A side’s squad for the remainder of the competition on Monday.
It will come as a massive relief for United who were desperate to offload Sanchez considering how he was earning a whopping £350,000 a week at Old Trafford while hardly playing.
His ongoing injury issues and lack of game time saw United ship him off to the San Siro where he has rediscovered some of the form that made him one of the most sought-after players during his time at Arsenal.
However, while out on loan, United were paying the bulk of his mammoth wages which proved to be a massive stumbling block when trying to move him on permanently.
Inter have been contributing around £150,000-a-week to his wages but were keen to avoid paying the full amount should he sign for the club.
This how now been avoided, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, who have claimed that Sanchez has agreed to spread his huge £13.5m salary over a three-year deal at Inter, taking him through until June 2023.
Inter have also signed Romelu Lukaku and Ashley Young from United in the past year, and coach Antonio Conte is keen to keep Sanchez as well.
The 31-year-old winger was due back at United on August 7 with nearly two years left on a contract but the news will see him remain in Italy while putting Old Trafford behind him.
Sanchez has contributed four goals and nine assists during his loan spell with Inter, which has largely been hampered by a tendon injury.
Sanchez joined United in January 2018 from Premier League rivals Arsenal – where he enjoyed incredible individual success – in a swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan but his time at Old Trafford quickly turned into a nightmare.
Sanchez has played just 45 times overall for the Red Devils, scoring only five goals and producing a mere nine assists.
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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