Alexis Sanchez to Barcelona: A Questionable Potentiality
Alexis Sanchez has somehow become one of the hottest names in the transfer market this summer, with perhaps no club linked as strongly to the Udinese frontman than Barcelona. However, Sanchez’s transfer would be, at best, premature and at worse, a total disaster. Taking into account the player’s lack of Champions’ League experience, enormous price-tag unbefitting of a player who has done relatively little, and Barcelona’s recent transfer history, there’s little to suggest that Sanchez would be a smart move for the club.
It is important to note just how inexperienced Alexis Sanchez is. At only twenty-two years old he has much time to learn and grow- time which is probably necessary before making a jump to such a big club- but has had very little experience in major events. In ninety-four games at Udinese he has scored a paltry twenty goals, twelve of which came this year. Were he averaging a goal every other game or more, perhaps an approach from a big club would make sense, despite his young age and small tally thus far. However, a mere single season in double digits suggests that the player has much to do before he can be considered anything near world class.
He does have much to his game besides goals, however. His assists and pace have been crucial for pushing Udinese from the brink of relegation one season to the Champions’ League the next. However, on the basis of a single season, there’s little to suggest that Alex is anything more than a one-season wonder. Calcio fans know all too well how many such players exist on the peninsula; Mauro Zarate has looked a shadow of the phenomenal talent that he was for Lazio in his debut season, and even players such as and even players such as Marco Borriello and Wayne Rooney can follow up a brilliant year with a mediocre one. At Barcelona, such inconsistency would not be tolerated with so many world class players already in starting contention.
There is also, of course, the overwhelming question: where and how would he fit into the Barcelona line up? Lionel Messi is surely as untouchable as possible; Pedro has earned his spot on the flanks; and David Villa is necessary as a goalscorer up front- a quality which, as has been noted, Sanchez has yet to show that he has. He could of course ply his trade as a bit player and sit on the bench, but would Barcelona really shell out so much money for a chair cushion? Even at that rate, he would be competing with the improving Ibrahim Afellay as well as products from Barcelona’s youth academy such as Jeffren and Thiago- not to mention Bojan Kirkic as well, should all three stay at the club this summer.
He would be by far the least proven of any Barcelona transfers in recent times, and taking his enormous price tag into account, is nothing short of a massive gamble. Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carlos Puyol, and Pedro all went through the club’s youth academy, learned the Barcelona way-to-play, and then broke into the first team. Transfers usually undergo a far more rigorous process at the club in current times, excluding cheap options such as Ibrahim Affelay or Gerard Pique. David Villa scored one hundred and eight goals in five years with Valencia, proving himself thoroughly in terms of both compatibility with La Liga and greatness on the international platform, where he has recently broken the Spanish record for goals scored. Dani Alves had been a superb rightback at Sevilla since 2002 and only made the move to Barca when he was twenty-five, which is an admittedly young age but with years of experience under his belt for both the Spanish league and the Brazilian National team. Even Javier Mascherano only made the move in his mid-twenties and after proving himself to be a fantastic defensive midfielder for Liverpool year after year.
Sanchez follows none of the above models. He doesn’t have years of experience in La Liga, is expensive, and is no guarantee to fit into Barcelona’s style of play. He would most certainly not be cheap, given the thirty million Euro price tag that Udinese have slapped on him. For comparison’s sake, that’s seven million more than Dani Alves cost Barcelona in 2008; seven million Euros more than the best right back in the world, one that has formed a near-legendary partnership with Lionel Messi. At Sanchez’s age, it could be argued that any club would be paying more for potential than final product, but why pay for potential that has only been there for one year yet?
Claiming that Alexis Sanchez is a great player would be as naive as stating that Diego Milito is a poor goalscorer on the basis of his paltry five goals this season. Of course, one poor season does not a career make- one only needs to open Wikipedia to see that Milito netted twenty-two goals last campaign as well as being an integral figure in Inter’s treble campaign, as well as winning Serie A the year prior. Sanchez? He once lead Udinese to fourth. Should Barcelona actually purchase the promising young Chilean, their acquisition will reflect far more on the insane “Must Buy” mentality of the current transfer market rather than the player himself.
