Jose mum on Sanchez move

MANCHESTER United manager Jose Mourinho said the club are still trying to sign Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal but added that the deal, which British media report could involve Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving in the other direction, was not done at all.

As talks continue, the Armenian midfielder has been left out of United’s squad for today’s Premier League clash with Burnley but Mourinho said at a news conference yesterday that he was unclear as to how close the two clubs were to closing the transfers.

“I think clearly everybody knows that we are there, and especially when the Arsenal manager speaks so clearly like he did there is no point in trying to hide or deny,” Mourinho said in reference to Arsene Wenger’s admission on Thursday that Sanchez might move to United within 48 hours.

“But it is not done at all, so in this moment Mkhitaryan our player, Sanchez an Arsenal player and with a match tomorrow I want to switch off and focus on the most important thing, which is the match.”

Sanchez was pictured training with Arsenal on Friday and could feature in the club’s game at home to Crystal Palace today.

Mourinho said he was not involved in the negotiations and, like everyone else, was waiting to be updated on their progress.

“Sometimes people think transfers involve a lot the managers in the negotiations, I think it depends on the profile of the club, the way we establish our jobs and in my case when it goes to the table of negotiations I like to be out, I am out and I will just calmly be waiting for news, no more than that,” he said.

The Portuguese coach added that he will inform the media on his view on Sanchez if they eventually sign the Chile international.

“I will speak with you if one day we sign him, I can speak with you about him and what he can bring to our team. He’s an Arsenal player, he’s not my player, there’s no point in me speaking about something that may or may not happen.”

● Football’s ruling bodies appear to be uninterested in dealing with the problem of diving in the sport said Burnley manager Sean Dyche, who believes the increase in simula- tion reflects a ‘cultural change’ in the Premier League.

Dyche has frequently expressed his concern about the spread of diving for penalties but says he senses little appetite to deal with the issue.

“I just think the game is so big now. I cannot believe, there are children all over the country diving all over the place... I just can’t believe that the powers that be of a fantastic sport like football don’t grip hold of that. I am stunned by that,” Dyche told a recent Q and A with Burnley fans.

“I don’t think I am going to change it. I don’t think there is a thirst to change it. I don’t get the feeling that anyone is that bothered about it. I don’t think that the powers that be are, they seem to think that the game is in good order. I just can’t fathom it out.

“I am really talking about the blatant dives, or the ones when... someone touches someone on the shoulder and somehow their legs go up in the air. If you were playing in the playground when you were a kid, you’d get laughed at,” he said.

“If our players do it, I would have a word with them. I wouldn’t hammer them about it but I would say ‘that’s not for me.“I think there is a cultural change, I think we know that. Some leagues, particularly in Europe, it is more of a normal occurrence for players to go down, let’s just say, softly. That is a cultural thing.” - Reuters