Why United have had to wait for a Chilean

24/01/2018 10:25, Report by Adam MarshallAlexis Sanchez will become the first Chilean to play a competitive match for Manchester United but there have been other occasions when his fellow compatriots came close to having that honour.

All three came during Sir Alex Ferguson's reign as manager, with the first, one of the greatest players in the South American country's history. Marcelo Salas was a gifted centre-forward who was targeted by the Reds in the late 1990s, when the club was on the hunt for a new striker.

Back in 2012, Sir Alex told me for Inside United: "We were in for Marcelo Salas. I went over to see Salas. I sent [my assistant] Brian Kidd to see him and he came back and said you…