Barcelona say they are ‘optimistic’ about winning the race for Alexis Sanchez despite confirmation that five of Europe’s biggest clubs are in contention for the Udinese star.

Sanchez is perhaps the most in demand young player in European football at present thanks to an excellent season that saw him score 12 goals and claim six assists in Serie A.

Though Manchester City, Manchester United, Juventus and Inter have all made offers to Udinese, Barca believe they are in a strong position to sign the Chile international, 22.

“We are in talks for Sanchez,” vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu told Chilean newspaper La Tercera. “We know he is a player of value and for that reason there are a lot of clubs chasing him. We’ll have to continue talking and see what happens in the next few days.

“We are optimistic even if we are still only at the beginning. I can’t reveal the details of the negotiations or talk about the other clubs who want him, but we are aware that we must firstly reach an agreement with Udinese and then the player.”

If any confirmation were needed that the forward, who moved from the wing into a central position to great effect last season, is currently courting widespread attention, it has come from an Udinese transfer consultant.

Stefano Antonelli also believes that Barcelona are in pole position.

“There are clubs who are doing everything to get hold of him – Barcelona, Manchester City, United and two Italian clubs [Juventus and Inter],” Antonelli told Sky Sport Italia.

“The offers have all come from these clubs. We don’t want to create a bidding war, but he is the big name on the transfer market at the moment and everyone wants him.

“All the clubs we talked about have a chance of signing him, but right now my feeling is that he’s more likely to go abroad. Barcelona’s very powerful push on to the scene has changed the scenario somewhat.”

Eurosport.com

Barca join race for Sanchez

Barcelona vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu has said that the club have started negotiations with Udinese for Chile forward Alexis Sanchez.

According to the Sun, Gill flew out to meet with Udinese owner Gino Pozzo in Barcelona, where he lives, in a bid to thrash out a deal for a player who is also being tracked by Barcelona and Inter Milan.

There are conflicting reports around how much it will cost to secure the services of the Chile international, with a figure between £35 million and £44 million in the press. Man City are thought to be prepared to pay no more than £27 million, which may mean Udinese have to reach a compromise with one of the player’s suitors.

If United do make a serious move for Sanchez it could suggest that their interest in Aston Villa’s Ashley Young has cooled as a summer of transfer tug of war continues in the Premier League. And Sanchez’s arrival would also place question marks over the future of Nani, who could be sold to help finance the Red Devils’ summer spending.

After Pozzo stated on Tuesday that City were favourites, due to the spending power of clubs in the Premier League, the 22-year-old’s agent, Fernando Felicevich, said: “An agreement with City? Sanchez’s future is still very much wide open.

“We are working on it and, after meetings with City, we have other new appointments.”

ESPN

Barcelona open talks with Udinese’s Chile international Alexis Sánchez

Barcelona’s vice-president, Josep María Bartomeu, has confirmed the club have started negotiations with Udinese for the Chile forward Alexis Sánchez.

The Spanish and European champions have been linked with the 22-year-old winger for some time and Bartomeu is hopeful a deal will be reached.

“We are optimistic but this has just begun. We are negotiating for Sanchez,” he told the Chilean newspaper La Tercera.

“We know he is a valuable player; that is why there are so many teams after him. We have to continue talking and we will see what is going to happen in the next few days.”

Sanchez, who is also a reported target for Internazionale, Manchester City and Manchester United, is thought to prefer a move to the Nou Camp.

But Bartomeu says the player’s club hold the key to his arrival in Barcelona. “We will first have to come to an agreement with Udinese,” he said.

Guardian

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.

Serie A Weekly

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