- Nigel Winterburn advises Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho on how to play Alexis Sanchez
- The 29-year-old joined the Red Devils in swap deal that saw Mkhitaryan move to Arsenal in January
- And the 54-year-old former defender says the Chilean must be played at the right position to get results against Chelsea on Sunday
Former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn believes Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho is the reason winter transfer signing, Alexis Sanchez has not been functioning at the optimal level for the club.
The 29-year-old joined the Old Trafford outfit this January in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan pitch his new tent with the Gunners.
But the Chilean forward has scored just one goal in all six appearances since he joined the club, and the 54-year-old, who currently works for BT Sports as a pundit says Mourinho must play the former Barcelona forward at the right position to get the best out of him.
United take on Premier League champions Chelsea this weekend and need a victory on Sunday will help them maintain their second position of the log, as Liverpool are just two points behind them.
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“He will make his mark eventually at Manchester United that is for sure,” Winterburn told Skysport.
“I actually believe personally that this season Sanchez has not been at the same high level that he was at last season. He has just had a slight dip in form.
“He has now moved to a new club. How will Manchester United use Sanchez best within the dynamics of their set-up?
“I just wonder eventually whether Sanchez will come in and play off the central striker in Lukaku. I could see that working very, very well for them.
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“Then you can use [Anthony] Martial or [Marcus] Rashford down one of your wings as well. I think that might start to excite some of the Manchester United supporters. It is a way of getting another creative player into your team.
“He is going to be a huge success but it is going to take him a little bit of time to settle in to the different styles of Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho.”
Winterburn further explained that Manchester United boss should twitch his tactics to ensure Romelu Lukaku gets enough feed that could help him score goals.
He added that the way the Portuguese manager sets up makes everyone want to ask what is happening around the club with the quality of players available for selection every match day at the club.
He also believes Lukaku is becoming ‘detached’ at United and needs someone like Sanchez to partner him.
Winterburn added: “I would love to know how many chances Manchester United are creating against the bottom half of the Premier League and how many chances Lukaku gets.
“And again against the top half of the league, again the same thing – how many chances are United creating and how many is Lukaku getting?
“Because we know Jose Mourinho sets up slightly differently against the top teams and you are going to have less chances to score anyway.
“Rather than looking at Lukaku and wondering what he is not doing, you have to look at whether it is the team set-up around him. Is he becoming detached in the position that he is playing?
“But if you don’t score against the big teams you are always going to get that question mark around you.”
Manchester United are second on the table with 56 points and they welcome Chelsea, 4th on the log with 53 points.
And both of them will be aiming for victory to better their standing on the log having played draw in their continental assignments during the week.
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Source: Sports.naija.ng
ROSY CREST
Saturday 24 February 2018