Football news - Paper Round: Alexis Sanchez ready to quit Manchester United
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Updated 10/11/2018 at 08:56 GMT
Manchester United could sell Alexis Sanchez and Matteo Darmian, Huddersfield want Tom Heaton, and Simon Mignolet could join Nice.
Alexis Sanchez of Manchester United celebrates after scoring his team's third goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Old Trafford on October 6, 2018 in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Image credit: Getty Images
Sanchez wants PSG move
There is a big story in The Times which reports Alexis Sanchez wants to leave Manchester United, just a year after joining from Arsenal. The Chilean forward is unhappy with Jose Mourinho’s tactical style, and misses the buzz of a big city. United boss Mourinho is nonplussed at the standard of Sanchez’s performances, too, and has found it hard to find a suitable role for him in the side. Despite recent performances improving, there is the sense that he is a lonely figure at Carrington.
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Alexis Sanchez of Manchester United is challenged by Adam Smith of AFC Bournemouth during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Manchester United at Vitality Stadium on November 3.
Image credit: Eurosport
Paper Round’s view: Sanchez’s performances have been particularly bad for the best part of a year, and if he is unhappy then there is no point forcing him to suffer in search of something that might not come. Better to let him go to Paris and use his enormous wages for something else, or perhaps swap him for another attacking player like Julian Draxler, who is less intimidated by making himself part of a team.
Darmian set for January switch
Another player who could leave Manchester United this winter is defender Matteo Darmian. He has barely featured for Jose Mourinho this season, and Inter Milan and Roma are both keen to bring him into first-team action in Italy as soon as the transfer window reopens. Mourinho likes the defensive cover the 28-year-old provides but the club are happy to let him leave in return for a decent offer.
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Matteo Darmian of Manchester United during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Manchester United at Vitality Stadium on April 18, 2018 in Bournemouth, England.
Image credit: Eurosport
Paper Round’s view: Darmian started very impressively but was kept out by Antonio Valencia, no great player himself. He appears to lack confidence and any attacking ability, which is a problem in modern football. Like Sanchez, there is little merit in keeping him when money could be better used to improve the squad elsewhere. An Italy international, he must have more talent than he has been able to display in England.
Huddersfield eye Heaton
Huddersfield Town want to bring in Tom Heaton from Burnley in January. The 32-year-old has lost his place to Joe Hart as number one choice, having been displaced by Nick Pope as he recovered from a shoulder injury. David Wagner knows he needs to improve his defence and thinks that Heaton would be a better option than current first choice Jonas Lossl.
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Burnley's Tom Heaton.
Image credit: Reuters
Paper Round’s view: Huddersfield lack quality across the pitch and urgently need to improve in order to stop shipping so many goals. Heaton is a reliable keeper, and in truth is better than Hart in many ways, so Huddersfield could get something of a bargain if Burnley are happy to trim their squad.
Vieira wants Mignolet at Nice
Patrick Vieira could make his way back to the Premier League, but this time to take Simon Mignolet from Liverpool. Mignolet has been relegated to back-up at the club after the arrival of Alisson Becker from Roma, and the Nice manager wants to improve his goalkeeper options. Sitting ninth in the table, Vieira wants to improve on his current options of Yoan Cardinale and Walter Benitez.
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Simon Mignolet
Image credit: Getty Images
Paper Round’s view: Mignolet is a reliable shot stopper when he’s seeing plenty of action, so if Nice struggle at the back then he could be a helpful presence behind a leaky defence. What he seems poor at is keeping his focus throughout a game, so as long as Nice don’t start racing up the table and give him time to daydream, he could be the right man for the club. Liverpool may be reluctant to let him go halfway through the season with no replacement.
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