Transfer period has always been a tormenting few months for all the fans. The excruciating patience that clubs demand from its supporters as they churn out high-priced deals through gruelling negotiations help no one else but media, the most. It is the only time of an entire season when whatever they write could contain the slightest of truths and the readers don’t leave anything to chance.
But as great a source of entertainment media is, for the cash-rich few, it is also a huge source of machinery to get their target one way or the other. Foreign clubs, like Barcelona, have mostly found using the news outlets and social media to lure the players and make their offer known, as private meetings with players aren’t legal.
Liverpool found it the hard way and Manchester City are wise enough to avoid the direct approach. Arsenal ace Alexis Sanchez, who was their top scorer last season with 30 goals and 19 assists, has now been a top target for Pep Guardiola this summer. After his fanciful approaches with tactical twists and squad experimentation failed terribly last season leaving him trophy-less in his debut season in the Premier League, he is now having it the way he knows best; emptying the club’s fortunes.
After sealing a move for AS Monaco’s Bernardo Silva and Benfica’s Ederson, he wants Alexis Sanchez in the squad now. And if reports are to be believed, then the Manchester outfit are willing to offer £50 million to Arsenal for his services. To the player, City have reportedly offered a package of £275,000-a-week.
There are many reasons to believe that Sanchez, who is yet to sign a contract extension with the North London side, will leave Arsenal this summer. And the most convincing among them is Arsenal’s failure to enter the top four after two decades. Although their FA Cup win did manage to mend things to some extent, there is a huge crack to paste. Pep Guardiola’s stint with Barcelona when he had Alexis Sanchez in his squad is also believed by many to do the trick.
But, here is the catch, the Spaniard manager always thought of him as a bench player and kept him lower down the pecking order at Barcelona. And the fact that Sanchez could only manage only 15 goals under him also makes him an unsuitable option for him.
One of the biggest reasons, however, why he is unlikely to join any English sides is Arsene Wenger’s contract extension. The 67-year-old is looking at a season, where he will be baptised by fire whatever be the result be, and displeasing fans would the last thing he is thinking. Bayern Munich’s interest is a threat to Arsenal for sure, but given Wenger’s situation, he would much rather let Sanchez play this season and leave for free when he will be thirty and start losing his vitality, than letting him go when he is at the top of his game.
