Nobody seems to know what's happened to Alexis Sanchez at Manchester United.

While there were certainly signs of stagnation during his final six months at Arsenal, nobody expected the onece indefatigable Chilean to see his career come to a grinding halt at Old Trafford.

Across 45 appearances for the Red Devils, Sanchez has only scored five times and his pitiful return of two strikes last season was his worst ever in European football.

As a result, it seems as though United have their hearts set on booting him out of the club and Inter Milan seem the best-positioned club to make that happen.

Antonio Conte's men are believed to be deep into negotiations for Sanchez in what will initially be a loan move, temporarily bringing an end to 18 months of terrible performances in England.

Sanchez's dreadful United spell

In truth, the swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan hasn't really worked out for either party, but Sanchez's poor form in Manchester has been amplified by his astronomical wages.

Not only has the 30-year-old been sleep-walking through games, but United have been paying him in the region of £500,000-a-week for doing so.

Sanchez is one of the highest-paid players in the Premier League and now that 82 weeks have passed since his Arsenal departure, the Chilean has wracked up an eye-watering amount.

Sanchez's wages exceed £40m

As we reported last week, Sanchez has accumulated an astonishing £41 million at the club - a total that we can all too handedly compare to a number of past transfer fees.

Perhaps the most eye-catching thing is that United have now spent more on Sanchez's wages than the £36.9 million that Liverpool forked out for Mohamed Salah in 2017.

And while Sanchez has crawled his way to just five goals with United, Salah has romped his way to 72 strikes - winning two Premier League Golden Boots - and bagged the Champions League.

The total of £41 million also means that United have paid in more in wages than Liverpool did to buy their other two forwards - Sadio Mane (£34m) and Roberto Firmino (£21m). 

You can even rewind the clock further to Chelsea's purchase of Eden Hazard, which also slips below United's hideous wage spend at £32 million.

Of course, these listed players have also cost their clubs a lot in wages, but it serves to emphasise just how much United have paid Sanchez and how much better they could have spent the money. 

And even if Sanchez finally jumps ship and heads to Inter Milan, his mother club will still have to make economic contributions that could take their spending to even dizzier heights.

Only time will tell whether we'll end up writing an article on United spending more on Sanchez's wages than Manchester City's purchase of Raheem Sterling or perhaps even higher.