Andy Cole: Alexis Sanchez Could Eventually Succeed at Manchester United

Manchester United legend Andy Cole has said Alexis Sanchez can rediscover his best form and justify his place at Old Trafford.

Cole said the Chilean's performances have left fans and pundits confused, but he believes Sanchez has the natural ability to peak again as he did at Arsenal.

According to Simon Peach of The Independent, Cole compared the forward's struggles to Fernando Torres' issues after he swapped his Liverpool shirt for Chelsea's colours.

"That's the million dollar question [if Sanchez will improve at United] because there's noises that he might not be there, whatever. Sanchez is a bit like the Torres thing. You know, when Torres left Liverpool and went to Chelsea, all of a sudden he wasn't the same individual and left everyone scratching their head. I think the situation with Sanchez now has got everyone scratching their head. 

"For what he was at Arsenal and then coming to Manchester United, you turn and say, ‘well, where has it kind of gone wrong?' Because you can't become a bad player overnight. You cannot do it. For some reason, I keep saying to myself he'll turn it around. He will turn it around. If it's at Manchester United, we'll have to wait and see, but you just can't become a bad player overnight because he has too many qualities."

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Sanchez arrived at Old Trafford as a world-class attacker 16 months ago. However, the 30-year-old scored just once last term after 20 Premier League appearances.

According to Sean Kearns of Metro, Sanchez collects a basic wage of close to £400,000 per week, and he also nets an additional £75,000 for each appearance he makes for United. The deal makes the player the highest paid at Old Trafford, but his statistical return has been meagre.

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is reportedly considering selling Sanchez to release the strain on the wage bill at the club, per Kearns. The Chile international's huge salary has complicated contract negotiations with other United players.

According to Sky in Italy (h/t Sky Sports), Inter Milan and Juventus have recently been considering moves for the former Barcelona star:

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has continued to pull the strings behind the scenes at United, and consistently poor recruitment with three former managers has caused the club to fall behind Manchester City and Liverpool.

United are playing catch up. The team should have comfortably qualified for the UEFA Champions League after an impressive opening spell under Solskjaer in the Premier League after December, but the squad proved to lack essential fitness and quality on the home stretch.

The Red Devils continue to operate without a director of football, leaving the recruitment decisions to be made by Solskjaer and Woodward as they consider potential targets and outgoings.

Sanchez could prove difficult to sell because a buyer might be reluctant to meet the wage he takes home in Manchester.