Geordie great Paul Gascoigne has jumped to the defence of departing Manchester United attacker Alexis Sanchez.

Alexis is joining former United teammate Romelu Lukaku at Inter Milan.

"Sanchez has been there before so he will adjust to that really well. Obviously Lukaku is a big, strong player and is different to what they have over there," Gascoigne told the Manchester Evening Sport on behalf of Premier Sports.

"Sanchez for instance, his fitness levels are incredible. He is a great player but it's just whether he gets his confidence back after a tough time at United.

"Lukaku as well, it must be disheartening to leave such a big club like United. But he's got to forget about that and concentrate on his fitness and his football. They both need to start enjoying their football again."

Gascoigne, who himself moved to Lazio from Tottenham Hotspur in 1992, explains that Italy is a great place to play football.

"My time out there was fantastic. It's the only place I know in the world that had six newspapers just on football," Gascoigne added.

"It was unbelievable. I enjoyed the weather, though it did take me a while to get used to their training. I was training sometimes four times a day, I did two sessions on my own as well.

"I had great memories out there and scored some great goals there too. I'm sure they will love it."