FIFA 18: Alexis Sanchez possible new rating and position at Manchester United

Manchester United fans have had an agonizing wait with regards to the club officially announcing the signing of Chilean superstar Alexis Sanchez. Now that the deal has been finalised, one can expect some changes that will go beyond the real footballing world.

Sanchez's move to United creates a possibility of a new rating and indeed a new position at his new club. Under Jose Mourinho, one can expect a slightly different role than what he had Arsenal. Mourinho just might give the player more freedom than any other player in the United side.

Sanchez's current FIFA 18 rating is 88 and his position has been given to be Left Wing (LW). Though he was often used as a striker, his predominant left wing position perhaps warranted the position he currently holds even in Ultimate Team.

Expect that to change now that he is a Red Devil. Sanchez will most likely be turned into a central attacking midfielder (CAM) under Mourinho, playing just behind central striker Romelu Lukaku. This will give the Chilean's play a broader horizon in terms of having more space to run into and subsequently more attempts at goals and assists.

His rating will change too, and with a more central role, expect the South American to jump a point to 90 in FUT ratings this year. He will also have an opportunity to further increase his rating in the next edition of the game if he can perform better in the remainder of the season.

Each individual statistic will also change for the player in the game. Sanchez is known for his pace and with a free licence to run around the park, his pace rating could move up a couple of notches to 88. Dribbling is already incredibly high at 89 and thus shouldn't change much. There is a high possibility that Sanchez's shooting stats could increase by two points to up to 86.

Manchester United have a considerably better defensive organisation than Arsenal, and while Sanchez won't be winning best defender in the Premier League, he will be expected to track back and clear his lines. So one can expect defending to be boosted up to 43. Passing could increase a notch to 81 as well with most of United's play based on playing out from the back so expect the Chilean to be a passer of the ball as well.

Physicality is a must under Mourinho with big players such as Paul Pogba, Marouane Fellaini and Romelu Lukaku already in the side but one wouldn't expect the Portuguese manager to put Sanchez under such pressure just yet. Like Juan Mata, he should be expected to use his skill on the ball to make things happen. This rating should go down by one point to 78.

There is no doubt that he has skills that could ruin defenders' lives but we will have to wait and see if the 4-star skill moves turn into 5-star anytime soon. Expect the weak foot ratings to be the same at 3-star as well. All in all, this talented 29-year-old should make your FUT side pretty much invincible with his new overall rating and position.