Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists Alexis Sanchez has a bright Man Utd future and predicts big season for Fred

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Tony Mogan16 August 2019

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists Alexis Sanchez remains part of his plans at Manchester United while anticipating a big season for Brazilian midfielder Fred.

Sanchez has been heavily linked with a return to Italy having failed to replicate his Arsenal form during a season-and-a-half at Old Trafford.

The Chile international scored just two goals last season and a hamstring injury suffered during the summer’s Copa America halted his preparations for the new campaign.

But after United failed to bring in a replacement for Romelu Lukaku following his deadline day move to Inter Milan, Solskjaer says the 30-year-old still has a role to play at the club.

Man United squad 2019-20 | Injuries, contracts and squad numbers

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"Alexis is such a professional and he comes in working every single day, really hard, and he wants to be a part of this," the United boss said.

"It's these stories again that he's been put in the reserves and all this - of course he hasn't.

"He's part of our squad and he's a very, very good player. He's had three weeks now, so he's a few weeks behind the rest, but he's very close to being part of it."

Asked if he will be an option as striker this season, Solskjaer said: "We don't have the biggest forward line in numbers, so Alexis might end up playing a lot more games than you expect.

"We expect him to come good at this club. He's quality."​​

Solskjaer is also expecting a bigger impact from Fred, who struggled during his first season in England following his £52m arrival from Shakhtar Donetsk last summer.

"The good teams I've played in always had a strong base with a settled backline," said Solskjaer. "We hope to provide that for our attackers and midfielders and Fred, of course, we believe that he's going to have a big season.

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