Manchester United have provided an update on the futures of on-loan duo Chris Smalling and Alexis Sanchez, stating that the pair will remain with Roma and Inter respectively until the conclusion of the Serie A season.
Both players had been scheduled to return to Old Trafford at the end of June, but with the coronavirus pandemic having caused chaos to the football calendar, the Italian top flight was forced to reschedule its fixtures and will now run until the beginning of August.
As such, United have permitted both players to remain in Italy to see out their domestic campaigns before returning to the Theatre of Dreams ahead of the 2020-21 season.
The Serie A sides will, however, be without the pair for upcoming Europa League matches.
It is likely that the Red Devils have not allowed the players to finish up European campaigns due to injury concerns, with the Premier League outfit reportedly keen to move on both players to ease their wage budget.
Indeed, Smalling had looked nailed on for a permanent move to Stadio Olimpico pre-coronavirus pandemic, but the Italian capital side are no longer in a position financially to cope with what would be a sizeable outlay.
For Alexis' part, United will almost certainly look to sell on the Chilean, who failed miserably to recreate his Arsenal form after swapping the Emirates for Old Trafford.
The issue, however, is Alexis' huge wage packet, with the majority of clubs now in a period of financial instability.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has in the past said that Sanchez would return to the club and “prove everyone wrong”, while more recently he admitted that he would like to sign a new striker in the summer to provide competition for Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
Should United struggle to find a buyer, Sanchez could well end up being that man to keep the striking pair on their toes.
Another player who could be sold is Marcos Rojo, who has entered the final year of his contract following a loan move to Estudiantes. Odion Ighalo, meanwhile, is staying at United on loan from Shanghai Shenhua until January 2021.