Roma are understood to have reignited their interest in Manchester United forward Alexis Sánchez, who will return from a disappointing loan spell with Inter this summer.
The Chilean, whose deal does not include an option to buy, managed just one goal and three assists in 15 appearances for Antonio Conte's side before football was postponed, with injuries taking their toll on Sánchez this season.
United had hoped that Sánchez would be able to increase his market value this season, but that obviously hasn't happened. Finding a permanent buyer may be tricky, but Sky Sport Italia (via Goal) note that Roma are interested in striking their own loan deal for the forward.
Calciomercato say the same thing, but they add that Roma would only be able to cover €4.5m of Sánchez's wages, so United would have to cover more than half of his pay. Inter currently pay €5.5m, so loaning Sánchez to Roma would cost United even more money.
There's also talk of a potential return to Chile. Universidad de Chile president José Luis Navarrete told DirecTV that he had been in contact with Sánchez, who expressed a desire to represent the club at some point.
“I have talked with Alexis Sánchez and he’s a fan of La U. He wants to retire or play for Universidad de Chile,” Navarrete said.
Given the cost of any deal, a return to Chile is not going to be realistic just yet, but a switch to Roma just might be. Roma were one of the sides who were interested in Sánchez last summer, but the Chilean snubbed their offer in favour of joining Inter.
However, it seems as though officials from I Giallorossi are still keen on Sánchez, and they hope that their positive relationship with their United counterparts will work in their favour.
Just how 'positive' that relationship actually is is up for debate. The two clubs have only done business once - Chris Smalling's loan to Roma this season - and given they are yet to reach an agreement over a permanent fee, it doesn't seem like they're best friends forever.
Nevertheless, United will almost certainly want to offload Sánchez and his enormous wages this summer, and unless a permanent buyer comes forward, they may have no choice but to agree to another loan.
The 31-year-old remains under contract at Old Trafford until 2022, so United will have to find somebody to take him off their hands soon, although there will be plenty of fans who would be happy to see him leave for free.
Source : 90min