Liverpool and Man United target Alexis Sanchez has the qualities to be a great Premier League forward - 7M sport

Liverpool and Man United target Alexis Sanchez has the qualities to be a great Premier League forward



Posted Tuesday, June 03, 2014 by Talksport.co.uk

Liverpool and Man United target Alexis Sanchez has the qualities to be a great Premier League forward
Alexis Sanchez scored 21 goals and created 17 for Barcelona last season and yet he is considered a Barcelona flop

Though a return to Italy could be on the cards, it's the rumours linking the player with a move to England that are most intriguing. While the forward's time at Barcelona to date suggests he is unlikely to ever fully grasp the demands of the Catalan side's style of play, at the same time, it has also demonstrated that he has the qualities to be a great Premier League forward, if and when the moment arrives.

The authenticity of their mes que un club motto is oft-debated, but Barcelona's supporters at least are genuinely different from most clubs. Followers of the Blaugrana are as accustomed to seeing a certain kind of football as they are to their life-long seats in the Camp Nou, and if last season proved anything, it's that winning games isn't enough for them if the style of play doesn't meet expectations.

A useful illustration came at the end of September 2013, when a 2-0 win against Almeria ensured that coach Tata Martino had led Barcelona to their best ever start to a La Liga season. Seven wins from seven. Yet rather than focusing on that feat, a fierce debate raged in local bars and streets over whether the Argentine was steering the team away from the Dutch-inspired possession football that had brought them decades of glory.

Alexis Sanchez has suffered from a similar discrepancy between numerical and stylistic success. While the 21 goals and 17 assists mentioned above mark a strong return in front of goal for last season, in his overall game the Chilean still tended to look uncomfortable and unnatural as a Barcelona player.

Less keen to look backwards when he receives the ball and try to associate with his team mates, it is much more natural for the forward to put his head down and burst into space while in possession rather than wait patiently for the ideal moment to attack, as is customary in Barcelona's way of playing.

Though he has made an effort to adapt to Barca's possession play, it isn't uncommon to see him running into trouble, seemingly disconnected from the players around him, with supporters growing frustrated as a result.

It's no coincidence that his best individual season as a Barcelona player came when Barca have looked a bit less, well, like Barca. Under Gerardo Martino the side struggled to assert its customary dominance in midfield, failing to control games for 90 minutes, resulting in more frequent end-to-end play, or anada i tornada, as they say in Catalan.

As a consequence, the Chilean had a chance to use his principle strengths – pace on the shoulder, intelligent diagonal runs across the width of the opposition back four, good heading and strong shooting from the edge of the area – more often than in his previous two seasons at the Camp Nou.

With Luis Enrique's arrival as Barcelona coach the team is likely to revert to the patient play of yesteryear however, and there is a suspicion that Alexis will subsequently regress in his performances. The club's sporting department feel that now is the ideal time to cash in, therefore.

Yet it's important to remember that the qualities mentioned above are exactly that: qualities. In the right team, Alexis' strengths could be taken advantage of over the course of 90 minutes and throughout the season rather than sporadically, as has been the case at the Camp Nou.

A preview of his potential to flourish in the Premier League was provided last November when he scored two goals against England at Wembley. The first, a header, relied on his physical strength in the area. The second, a lovely chip after a swift break.

The kind of space Alexis found that night is a reflection of the space he would encounter in English club football. The to-and-fro nature of the Premier League is something arrivals from La Liga invariably comment upon when they sign for an English side. It could be a gift for someone of the Chilean's characteristics.

Liverpool and Manchester United are the principle candidates rumoured to be following the player, and indeed, both were circling overhead when he decided to sign for Barcelona back in 2011.

Three years later, at 25, he will leave the Camp Nou an improved footballer in comparison to the one that arrived however, and that can only benefit the club that succeeds in signing him.

Though he may never have quite managed to convince everyone in the Catalan capital, the Chilean's faith in in his own ability will only have strengthened following his best return in front of goal in one season.

The image of him scoring a beautiful strike from an impossible angle against Atletico Madrid last month – one that is likely to be the last of him as a Barcelona player – will have done little to hurt both his high self-confidence and weight in the market.

The forward's time in Spain is a reminder that just because a great attacking player signs for a great attacking club doesn't necessarily mean it's a perfect match. The frantic pace of English football looks much more likely to suit El Nino Maravilla – the boy wonder. 



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