Alexis Sanchez is set to join Manchester United’s pre-season tour of the United States after the club confirmed the Chile forward’s visa issue has been resolved. Sanchez was absent from United’s flight to Los Angeles on Sunday due to what the Premier League side said was an “administrative issue”.
It later emerged American authorities hadn’t granted Sanchez a visa, reportedly because the former Arsenal star accepted a 16-month suspended prison sentence in Spain over a tax issue.
Speaking about the Sanchez’s absence at a press conference on Wednesday, United manager Jose Mourinho said: “It’s really bad and he’s really sad. It’s not good for him and not good for me, or for the team. There is no one to blame. I know the club is making the effort but the US authorities have their processes.”
But Sanchez has now been given the visa after all and can link up with Mourinho’s squad as they start their build-up to the new Premier League season. “Sanchez’s issue is all sorted and he will fly out to the USA very shortly,” a United spokesperson said yesterday.
Sanchez posted a picture on Instagram yesterday accompanied by the caption: “The last training in Manchester, soon” followed by a picture of the US flag. United were playing the first match of their tour against Club America in Phoenix last night, before taking on San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday. Mourinho’s men are also scheduled to face AC Milan, Liverpool and Real Madrid before opening their Premier League campaign against Leicester on August 10.
Meanwhile, Mourinho is worried by the absence of key players from the club’s pre-season training camp in the United States, saying that the situation was “very bad” ahead of the Premier League campaign. United are without several World Cup participants, including France’s Paul Pogba, Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini, and England’s Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford among others, as they rest following a gruelling tournament.
“The pre-season is very bad, the positive thing of the pre-season is only for the young boys that have a fantastic opportunity to train with us,” Mourinho said. “I’m worried because I’m not training (with everyone) and then I go to the Premier League without lots of players, but it is what it is and we have to try and make the best out of it with the players we have here. I’m not worried about playing Liverpool here or Real Madrid or Milan... I’m not worried if we lose badly.”
Mourinho also confirmed that defender Diogo Dalot will miss the start of the Premier League season due to a knee injury. The 19-year-old, who joined United on a five-year contract last month, sustained the injury while playing for former club FC Porto in the closing stages of last season.
“Dalot is injured; we knew that but we didn’t want to lose him because of that,” Mourinho said. “He will not be ready for the start of the season but we think he’ll be ready for September.”
Fellow fullback Luke Shaw was restricted to 11 league appearances last term but says he is eager to prove he could still have a future at Old Trafford despite entering the final year of his contract.
“It has been disappointing. I look back over the last few years and I’ve not had a massive run in the team,” Shaw told reporters. “I don’t think I would still be involved if the manager didn’t believe in me.”