Alexis Sanchez: Chile’s ‘Wonderboy’ & Heir to Ronaldo’s Throne at Manchester United: Should Arsenal, Tottenham, Man City, Chelsea, Everton & Liverpool Pounce Whilst Cristiano’s Future Hangs in Balance?

Reports suggest that Manchester United may well be preparing for life after Cristiano Ronaldo with a double swoop on two of the brightest South American starlets in world football…Argentina’s Sergio Aguero and Chile’s Alexis Sanchez. However, of the two players in question it’s Sanchez who would be the like for like replacement for the Portuguese Real Madrid target.

Alexis Alejandro Sanchez Sanchez may not be a household name in England but he is extremely highly regarded in South America. He is known as ‘El Nino Maravilla’ which translates as the ‘Wonder Boy’. Just like Manchester United’s current number 7 this lad is blessed with an abundance of talent as well as an array of tricks the two times PFA Player of the Year would be proud of. Despite his tender age, the 19-year-old has already played for 3 different clubs not including the side (Udinese) that he’s been owned by for the past two seasons.

The Youngster began his career with Chilean side Cobreloa where he made a total of 40 League appearances whilst scoring 9 goals before Italian outfit Udinese signed him for a fee of $3 million. He was then immediately loaned out to Colo-Colo who paid Udinese nearly $150,000 for his services for both the 2006 Clausura (closing) championship and the 2007 Apertura (opening) championship of which they won both. The Chilean teenager scored 5 goals in 27 League games for the club (23 starts) as well as bagging a hat-trick in a Copa Libertadores match with Venezuelan side Caracas. His next stop after Colo-Colo was a loan move to River Plate in Argentina.

The teenager’s spell in Argentina has been an impressive one as he helped the club to the 2008 Clausura title. Sanchez scored 4 League goals in 28 appearances (18 starts) leading to a huge growth in his reputation back in Chile and in South America in general. He is tipped to be the next Chilean grown player to become a global star like Ivan Zamarano and Marcelo Salas before him. In Argentina, he has topped popularity polls above the distinguished likes of Boca Juniors star Juan Roman Riquelme which is no mean feat.

There are doubts over the player’s ability to withstand the physical nature of the western leagues as he is slightly built and stands at 5 ft 7. However, this has seen him likened to Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and any comparison with arguably the best player in the world right now is high praise indeed.

Sanchez has already won 12 caps for his country despite his tender age and scored 3 goals. In fact, the youngster had already broken into his national side aged 17. He was highly impressive in Chile’s short tour of Europe prior to the 2006 World Cup where he performed against the Republic of Ireland, the Ivory Coast and Sweden earning many plaudits.

The ‘wonder boy’ will return to Udinese this summer to finally compete for a spot in their side. Despite this, the club reportedly rejected a recent enquiry from the Red Devils for the £12m rated star with Sports Director Pietro Leonardi making the club’s position clear. He was quoted as saying, “All the players in the current squad are part of the project for the start of the season and Sanchez is in the plans of coach Marino”.

However, money talks and if United do firm up their interest in the wake of a possible Ronaldo transfer to Madrid expect the player to be arriving at Old Trafford. The protracted will he, won’t he saga of the Portuguese star could allow a number of other Premier League clubs to step in with firm bids for the exciting young Chilean at they’d be able to steal a march on Sir Alex Ferguson. However, whatever happens this summer, Alexis Sanchez is certainly a name to look out for in the future.

So would you like your club to make a move for the Chilean wonder boy or would you be wary of buying such a young South American star? Let’s hear your views.

Tags: Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal, Chelsea, chile, Colo-colo, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, River Plate, Tottenham, Udinese

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