Alexis Sanchez hitting top form amid Barcelona interest
If Alexis Sanchez wants to move back to Barcelona, he is going the right way about engineering a move, having turned in another impressive display for Inter against Salernitana on Friday.
The 32-year-old scored Inter’s third goal in a 5-0 rout, completing a flowing counter as the San Siro club cemented their place at the top of Serie A.
It proved to be his final action of the game, with head coach Simone Inzaghi withdrawing a player who has been in and out of his team all season because of injury problems.
Alexis, though, appears to be coming back to his best form just in time for the January transfer window to open.
In a 4-0 win over Cagliari last weekend, the former Arsenal and Manchester United star scored his first league goal of the season and bagged his third assist. It took him 15 minutes to get up to speed, as it did against Salernitana, but he was an impressive figure once he got there. Indeed, it was the first time he completed 90 minutes for his club since a Coppa Italia fixture against Juventus in February.
Barcelona are thought to be looking at Alexis as a potential replacement for Sergio Aguero, who retired because of heart issues.
However, the Catalan side appear closer to capturing Edinson Cavani from Manchester United instead.
Alexis slammed by Chile legend
Despite his encouraging recent performances, Alexis Sanchez would be blessed to join Barcelona, according to Patricio Yanez, who says that the forward is a shadow of his former self.
“He is almost always an injured player, who has dropped a lot,” he said prior to Friday’s fixture.
“We can say that he played well in the last game, but then he doesn't play four in a row or only makes 15 minutes.
“He is a long way from being the player we knew. Today nobody would pay the millions that other clubs have invested in the past. Going to Barcelona would be a real gift for him.”
Inter have a home encounter against Torino to play on Wednesday in their final match of the year – and Alexis’ last chance to impress Barcelona before the transfer window opens.