The transfer of Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United is arguably the biggest to happen in the Premier League for a long time.Arsenal losing their best player to one of their main rivals (again) would be big enough, United signing one of the best in the league is always a talking point, but the way they stole the deal from under the noses of Manchester City made it the talking point of English football.City looked absolute certainties to bring in the player this window after narrowly missing out last summer and Sanchez completing the move was treated as a formality over the first half of the season.January wasn't very far along by the time it became clear that Sanchez may be heading to a different part of Manchester though, and all of a sudden they found themselves as favourites.City pulled out of the deal, allegedly angry at the Chilean changing his plans after giving them his word, leaving United with a clear path to complete a transfer that few would have believed a month ago.Not that it didn't take a lot of what United had to offer to sway Sanchez's favour their way; the Red Devils had to give up Henrikh Mkhitaryan, a player they paid £30 million for 18 months ago, while also offering up wages that make Sanchez one of the world's best-paid players.Jose Mourinho has given his thoughts on giving up that much cash for a player with a mere six months remaining on his contract, explaining what he believes his new player is really worth."The numbers written are not exactly the numbers," Mourinho said. "And put it in perspective - a normal transfer for Sanchez under contract would cost £100m-£150m roughly."He could be right with that figure, what with the sharp rise in fees since Neymar's move to Paris-Saint Germain, and it's certainly true that they've spent less on the player than would usually be required for someone of Sanchez's ability.The amount of money put off City, though, who felt betrayed by the player's sudden demands in the wake of United's interest.Mourinho, however, feels that may just be an excuse. In a strange metaphor, the United boss compares Sanchez to an "orange full of juice", claiming that City only say they didn't want the player anymore because they could no longer get him.

It's certainly one of Mourinho's more memorable explanations - United fans will just be hoping he can squeeze it all out of their new star.