Alex Keble on Alexis Sanchez joining Manchester United

In years to come the Alexis Sanchez transfer saga might be seen as the moment in which the two Manchester clubs really looked each other in the eye and realised, as the new duopoly solidified, that to win the war they must battle on every front. Manchester United’s pursuit of the Chilean was at least partly designed to sabotage Manchester City. It is clear that a precedent has now been set.

There are only so many superstars in world football. From now on, whenever a galactico pines for a move both City and United will embark on a war of attrition over his signature, triggering a terrifying escalation of the player’s wages to display their power, wealth, and ego. If Sanchez can wangle £500,000-per-week, just imagine what the muscle-flexing in Manchester will do for Neymar’s bank balance.

But for now, the symbolic meaning of Sanchez’s move has more to do with the tactical and psychological methodologies of the two respective managers. Pep Guardiola’s preference for the selflessness and tactical plasticity of youth ultimately made Sanchez’s wage demands, coupled with his egotism in Arsenal matches, one to avoid. But for Jose Mourinho, Sanchez’s furious on-pitch demeanour and his desperation to lift trophies in England (plus the psychological impact of stealing a signing from the club’s arch rivals) makes him an ideal fit for the siege mentality approach of the United head coach.

Of course, Sanchez’s playing style is more obviously suited to Guardiola’s philosophy, but this is precisely why he is such a good signing for United; Mourinho’s team can look awkwardly frigid at Old Trafford under the Portuguese, failing to find the slinking rhythms needed to wear down stubborn defences. Sanchez is the first step in addressing an issue that has come to define the tactical contrast between City and United. But his arrival must be the beginning of a Mourinho update, not the end.

Watching United this season there is a sense Mourinho is stuck in the mid-2000s, a time when his managerial methods were perfectly suited to European and English football as his Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan teams made him one of the most extraordinarily successful coaches in history.

Back then, before Cruyffian possession football became fashionable again - and way before the German model of high pressing merged with the former to make the football pitch the swirling maelstrom it is today – Mourinho’s tactical individualism did the job.

His players performed simplified jobs, contributing in fewer phases of play than their contemporaries, which wasn’t a problem because Mourinho had such a clear advantage in the psychological department. An almost hypnotic sense of purpose descended on his squad thanks to his innovative welding of emotional response to tactical confidence, as Jonathan Wilson detailed at length for The Guardian, which meant narrowly-defined roles were a perfect fit.

The current United team is similarly built: Anthony Martial bursts to the byline as a traditional winger; Romelu Lukaku strolls up-front as a traditional targetman; Nemanja Matic sits in the middle as a traditional defensive midfielder. There is very little fluidity to their movement, and universalism - the new normal at Liverpool, City, and Tottenham Hotspur – is virtually non-existent.

Sanchez can address this problem. Football has evolved considerably in the last decade, and this individualistic approach is no longer good enough to pull fiercely organised opposition defences out of position. The Chilean’s high-energy style and constant movement between the lines will offer Mourinho greater elasticity in the final third, and he could forge a superb partnership with Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba, the only other United players able to find freedom under Mourinho’s tutelage.

However, Sanchez must be seen as the start of something new, not the final piece in the jigsaw. United must not end their pursuit of Antoine Griezmann (12/1 with Sky Bet to join United in January) and should avoid signing more one-track footballers like Ivan Perisic or Lucas Moura (4/1 to join United in January).

The battle for supremacy in the city of Manchester is only just beginning; Sanchez is a pawn in a wider conflict built on ego and wealth and fear. It is blindingly obvious which club is currently winning, not just in the pursuit of trophies this season but in the clarity and purpose of their vision. Under Mourinho, United will only fall further behind unless their manager embraces the tactical advances the Premier League has made over the last five years. Signing Sanchez is a very good start.

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