Alexis Sanchez is coming off an excellent season in the Premier League for Arsenal. Despite the club missing out on qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, the Chilean still scored 24 league goals in 38 matches.
However, with Sanchez’s contract expiring next summer, his future with Arsenal is up in the air. On Friday, he told the assembled media at the Confederations Cup that his decision is “clear” and will be revealed after the tournament.
If Sanchez decides to hand in a transfer request and it is accepted, there will be plenty of teams interested in the 28-year-old. In fact, there are already a few clubs circling around in preparation for a potential exit.
Here are four potential destinations for Sanchez if he leaves Arsenal.
Manchester City
According to John Cross of the Daily Mirror, Arsenal would prefer to not sell Sanchez to a Premier League rival. However, a £50 million ($84 million CAD) asking price combined with Sanchez’s request of at least £350,000 ($588,000 CAD) in weekly wages means clubs from abroad are being scared off. Therefore, Manchester City is considered the front-runner to sign Sanchez.
Pep Guardiola coached the Chilean at Barcelona during the 2011-12 season, so the forward already understands Guardiola’s system. Additionally, City missed several big chances in marquee matches in the Premier League this past year. Boosting the attack with a player of Sanchez’s quality would surely improve the Citizens in the final third of the pitch.
City would likely sell Sergio Aguero to accommodate any potential arrivals to the club. If the Argentinean leaves Manchester and Sanchez announces he is not signing a new contract with Arsenal, that could spark negotiations.
Chelsea
With Diego Costa set to leave Chelsea, manager Antonio Conte will be in the market for another forward. Any funds acquired from a potential Costa sale could be used to land Sanchez.
In March, Sanchez told Chilean media that he loves living in London and would ideally like to stay in the English capital. That immediately sparked rumours of a move to Chelsea.
When Conte was at Juventus, the Serie A champion was linked to Sanchez before he left Udinese for Barcelona in 2011. The Blues can afford Sanchez’s wages and Arsenal’s demands for a fee, plus Chelsea has won two of the last three Premier League titles.
The only concern is Arsenal would especially like to avoid selling Sanchez to a London rival.
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich will undergo a major overhaul this summer. The German champions have already signed Niklas Sule, Sebastien Rudy, Serge Gnabry and Corentin Tolisso to boost the defence, midfield and wings.
Douglas Costa has been heavily linked to Juventus, so his imminent departure means that Bayern has even more incentive to acquire another attacker. Sanchez can play out wide, as a second striker or as a No. 9, which would alleviate the pressure on Robert Lewandowski. Outside of Lewandowski (30) and the often-injured Arjen Robben (13), no other player had more than six goals in the Bundesliga for the Bavarians this past season.
However, the reported £50 million asking price is apparently too high for Bayern, as are Sanchez’s potential wages. The Bundesliga champion could negotiate, though.
There is also the x-factor of Sanchez’s Chilean teammate Arturo Vidal. Vidal told Spanish newspaper Sport (h/t ESPN) that he thinks Sanchez “still needs to take that step forward to fight to be among the best in the world and, in order for that to happen, he has to join the best team in the world.”
“Whenever they [Bayern executives] have asked me, I’ve always said that he is the player that needs to arrive here.”
Paris Saint-Germain
If a marquee player is rumoured to be available, Paris Saint-Germain will inevitably be linked.
France-based journalist Jonathan Johnson tweeted that Sanchez is one of PSG’s top-three targets this summer. Johnson recently reported that the Chilean forward is coach Unai Emery’s “preferred target.”
PSG can afford the reported fee and salary, though the Parisians already have Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria, Lucas Moura, Julian Draxler, Javier Pastore, Giovani Lo Celso and Goncalo Guedes on their books. Adding Sanchez would surely upset a few players and could lead to an exodus.
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