Udinese president reveals that Premier League clubs had chance to sign Alexis Sanchez for only £2m
Udinese president Giampaolo Pozzo revealed that Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez could have gone to any Premier League club for a meagre amount of £2m. Had they shown enough faith in the player, he could have been lining against Arsenal.
Udinese brought Sanchez from Corbreloa for £2m in 2006. The player chose to move to the Italian club as they were the first to show faith in the player, and they were the club who brought the attacking prodigy to Europe.
Pozzo told The Sun, “The big clubs, not just English, had sensed the deal, but we were good at getting the player first when he was not yet known. He wanted to sign for us because firstly, he wanted to come to Europe and then because we were the first to believe in him.”
Pozzo further added, “Our scouts in South America saw his unquestionable technical qualities. But, from when we started following him, he also had a personality that was out of the ordinary for a boy of that age.”
Sanchez flourished in Italy and maintained his name at the top for three remarkable seasons.
He was like a coach and wanted to help: Matej Vydra
Watford striker Matej Vydra played alongside Sanchez when at Udinese. When asked about his experience, Vydra said, “He will help Arsenal's players. When at Udinese, every day he tried to make his team mates better and it's good when someone helps you. He was young but was like a coach and wanted to help.”
Sanchez’s top form had him transferred to La Liga giants Barcelona. The then European Champions paid £30m for the player in 2011. He was signed by Arsenal for the same price after he played three successful seasons with the Catalan Club. He scored 39 goals in 88 league appearances before being signed by the Gunners.
The Arsenal right winger is currently valued for €38m in the transfer market.