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Alexis Sanchez: Inter CEO Beppe Marotta says they are close to signing Manchester United forward

Alexis Sanchez's exit would free up Man Utd's iconic No 7 shirt, the same number worn by Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund

Alexis Sanchez has spent this season on loan at Inter Milan
Image: Alexis Sanchez has spent this season on loan at Inter Milan

Inter Milan CEO Beppe Marotta says the club are close to signing Alexis Sanchez on a permanent three-year deal.

Talks have progressed for a deal which is thought will see Sanchez leave Manchester United on a free transfer to join the Italian club.

Marotta told Sky Italy: "He is not official yet but unofficially he is ours for three seasons. We believe in him a lot and we are happy."

The chief executive added the transfer could be officially announced as early as Thursday.

Sanchez has been on loan at Inter since August 2019 with United still paying a large portion of his £560k-a-week wages.

The Chile international would receive a payout from United for cancelling his contract, which still has two years to run. The details of the payout are unknown but the value of the remaining two years in wages is around £55m.

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Image: Alexis Sanchez has scored four goals in 22 league appearances for Inter

Sanchez is set to sign a three-year contract with Inter worth £6.3m a year.

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Should a deal be completed, it would mean United's iconic No 7 shirt would be vacant.

The shirt has been worn by George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham. It is also, incidentally, the same number Jadon Sancho wears for Borussia Dortmund.

Sanchez would leave Old Trafford after scoring five goals in 45 appearances since his swap deal involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who joined Arsenal, in January 2018.

Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez of Internazionale celebrates after scoring to give the side a 2-0 lead during the Serie A match at Luigi Ferraris, Genoa. Picture date: 25th July 2020. Picture credit should read: Jonathan Moscrop/Sportimage
Image: Sanchez has been in good form for Inter since the restart

Neville: Sanchez a 'disaster' at Man Utd

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Speaking last year, Gary Neville praised the new 'youthful and energetic' Manchester United side and believes Alexis Sanchez should leave the club

Speaking in August 2019 upon his move to Inter Milan, Sky Sports' Gary Neville was brutal in his assessment of the Chilean's time at Old Trafford.

"I thought he would be a forward who would play all across the line, who scored goals and was tenacious, but Sanchez has been an absolute disaster. I have no idea what's happened to him. There must be two of them. No one could have foreseen the disaster that was about to happen with Alexis Sanchez.

"I don't know what happened to him. That wasn't the Alexis Sanchez that played at Arsenal. He wasn't old when United signed him. He'd been proven. We knew United would get only a couple of years out of him, I know his wages were massive.

"But my point is, no one could have foreseen how bad he would be for the club."

Sanchez at Man Utd: Where did it go wrong?

Sky Sports' Adam Bate:

'This was no slow decline. Sanchez had been named Arsenal's player of the year just eight months prior to joining United but proceeded to struggle from the outset. Burnout was offered as an explanation but after his first summer off in years his form deserted him entirely.

'How did one of the Premier League's most exciting players become its biggest bust?'

Alexis Sanchez's Man Utd struggles - read the feature in full.

Man Utd close to agreeing Sancho personal terms

Jadon Sancho
Image: Jadon Sancho wears the No 7 shirt at Borussia Dortmund

United are close to agreeing personal terms in principle on a five-year contract with Sancho, as discussions continue at an advanced stage with Dortmund over the structure of the transfer fee.

Dortmund have not moved from their €120m (£108m) valuation of the England international, but seem to be open to accepting less money up front.

Ideally, the Bundesliga side would want an initial €100m (£90m) to fund a replacement for the 20-year-old - though it is very unlikely they would spend that amount of money on a new signing, hence the softening of the stance on Sancho's initial fee.

Jadon Sancho excels in a raft of stats, even compared with players of a similar position across Europe's top five leagues

The 20 stars who could move this summer

The transfer window is open and there are A-list players in demand and whose futures are uncertain.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho, Mesut Ozil, Wilfried Zaha, Kai Havertz, Gareth Bale and much, much more...

We take a look at some of the big names who will be the centre of attention during the transfer window...

Transfer Centre LIVE!

All the latest news, analysis and rumours from the window in one place.

The summer transfer window will run for 10 weeks from July 27 and close at 11pm on October 5.

A domestic-only window for trades between the Premier League and EFL then runs from October 5 and closes on Friday October 16 at 5pm. Follow all the news and analysis on Sky Sports News and across Sky Sports' digital platforms, including with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.

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