Alexis Sanchez agrees contract pay-off to end Man United nightmare and seal Inter Milan transfer

Serie A - Inter Milan v Torino - San Siro, Milan, Italy - July 13, 2020 Inter Milan's Alexis Sanchez in action with Torino's Nicolas Nkoulou [COURTESY]

Manchester United are finally set to get Alexis Sanchez off their books.

Having for so long looked utterly unsellable, the Chilean misfit is closing on a permanent transfer to Inter Milan, where he has spent the last year on loan.

Sanchez, 31, endured a nightmare 18 months at Old Trafford after arriving in January 2017 from Arsenal.

Handed a mega-money £400k-a-week contract, with a number of additional incentives potentially taking him up to £560k-a-week, he scored just five times in 45 games before moving to Italy in August 2019.

United have been paying a considerable portion of his salary while he has been in Italy and Sanchez has two years left to run on his deal.

But Sanchez has agreed to effectively rip up his deal, after United elected to forego a transfer fee and allow him to move on a free transfer.

Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg - Manchester United vs Sevilla - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - March 13, 2018 Manchester United’s Alexis Sanchez looks dejected [REUTERS/David Klein]

The Premier League club, who are in Europa League action on Wednesday night - with Sanchez also set to feature for Inter against Getafe - had initially been keen to land a transfer fee of around £15million to sell Sanchez.

But that wasn’t feasible for the Serie A side, who have been the only side keen on negotiating a deal for the former Arsenal and Barcelona forward.

Sanchez had been due to return to United after the meeting with Getafe, but all parties have pushed to get a permanent move done, bringing to an end the sorry affair that has been Sanchez's United move.

United have been desperate to get Sanchez off their books, liable to the tune of almost £55million in the coming two years if the Chilean had returned to Old Trafford.

Instead, United have elected to take a hit now, foregoing a fee and paying up Sanchez to cancel his contract.

That figure is unlikely to become known until United’s next set of end-of-year accounts.

Sanchez is set to land a three-year deal in Milan worth around £130k-a-week after tax, with Antonio Conte having pushed for his permanent arrival - even with the ex-Chelsea boss' own future now in question.

Getting Sanchez off their wage bill is a boost for United, as they close on the arrival of Jadon Sancho, who will take his No.7 shirt.