Man. United forward Sanchez makes Inter move permanent

Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez on Thursday completed a permanent move to Inter Milan on a three-year contract, bringing an end to his unsuccessful time at Old Trafford.

The 31-year-old Chilean, who had been on loan at Inter this season, signed a contract until June 30, 2023.

Despite missing months through injury, Sanchez came back strong after the coronavirus lockdown, helping lift Antonio Conte’s side to a runners-up finish behind Juventus.

In total he scored four goals and set up another 10 in his 29 appearances.

And Conte praised the Chilean after Inter booked their ticket to the Europa League quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Getafe on Wednesday.

“Sanchez was an excellent move,” said Conte. 

“Credit to the club for closing a really good transfer. We deserved it, it came at a bad moment in his career and then he got hurt right away. 

“We waited for him and now he’s doing well. It is right that we are the ones to reap the benefits of this.”

The deal is reported to be worth around seven million euros ($8 million) per season, making him Inter’s third highest paid player after Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku and Danish midfielder Cristian Eriksen.

Despite his £350,000-per-week contract at Old Trafford Sanchez failed to make an impact after joining from Arsenal in January 2018 as part of the deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan go the other way.

He scored five goals in 45 appearances before following Lukaku to Inter in August 2019, where United covered a hefty portion of the Chilean’s wages. 

They were later joined by Ashley Young.

Sanchez was sidelined for nearly three months after undergoing surgery in October on tendon damage picked up while playing for Chile in a friendly against Colombia.

“Everyone at Manchester United wishes Alexis Sanchez all the best in his future career as he joins Inter Milan on a permanent transfer,” the Premier League club said.

Sanchez first arrived in Europe playing for Italian side Udinese in 2008, and following loan spells in South America, moved to Barcelona in 2011, where he won La Liga in 2013.

He joined Arsenal in 2014 and during four seasons won the FA Cup twice. 

For Chile he has scored 43 goals in 132 appearances, winning the Copa American twice in 2015 and 2016.