Alexis Sanchez will return to Manchester United next month and hand the club a £50million dilemma.
The Chile winger is due back at United on August 7 when his loan deal at Inter Milan officially runs out, with nearly two years remaining on his £25m-a-year contract at Old Trafford.
His refusal to take a pay cut will be a major stumbling block to securing another move, and it’s understood that Sanchez also wants to stay in Europe rather than play in China or the Middle East.
Unless United can find a solution, they risk being stuck with the 31-year-old player and his astronomical salary until the contract ends on June 30, 2022.
That scenario would appear to suit neither party. United have moved on without Sanchez this season as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continues to build a young, vibrant team.
Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford have blossomed in the wide positions vacated by Sanchez, and England winger Jadon Sancho will be another option if he signs from Borussia Dortmund.
Sanchez, meanwhile, is happy in Italy after recovering from a poor start and a dislocated left ankle in October to produce better form recently.
Although he has only scored two goals in 23 games on loan at Inter, he claimed a seventh assist of the season in Monday’s 3-1 win over Torino.
The former Udinese forward speaks Italian and is settled at the San Siro along with his former United team-mates Romelu Lukaku and Ashley Young.
Coach Antonio Conte would like to keep Sanchez, but Inter are reluctant to commit to a £20m transfer for a player who turns 32 in December and has a poor injury record.
United are paying the price for handing Sanchez the most lucrative contract in the Premier League when they outbid Manchester City to sign him from Arsenal on a four-and-a-half-year deal in January 2018.
As well as earning a basic £20.4m-a-year in wages and image rights, Sanchez receives an extra £1.1m annually as part of his signing-on fee plus bonuses that potentially take his pay to £25m.
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