FC Barcelona: What Next For Alexis Sanchez?

Is he injured? Or is he simply running out of time? What exactly does the future hold for the Alexis Sánchez? Despite featuring in each of the last four Clasicos, Alexis Sánchez was left in the stands last night and could only watch as his teammates slumped to a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Los Blancos. Even given Alexis’ recent run of form, it was a surprising decision; granted, the Chilean has not been in the best form of his life but he still brings a lot to the table – including a number of key attributes that may (or may not) have aided the Blaugrana last night.

For starters, Sánchez is a selfless striker, keen to press from the front. While opposing defenders might not be fearful of his goal-scoring prowess, few will relish the opportunity to come up against such a tireless worker. It’s easy to underestimate the importance of tracking back, but as many pointed out, Barcelona were reluctant to do just that last night – an area where we can guarantee Alexis would have made an impact.

However, thanks to his recent dry-spell in front of goal, Alexis is dramatically short of confidence; if a chance would have fell his way, no-one would have been surprised to see him miss the target – and as Barça created so few clear-cut chances, they could ill-afford someone as "wasteful" as Alexis to start in attack. Or maybe there’s a simple explanation after all. Substituted at half-time against Sevilla suffering from discomfort, Alexis may have missed out through injury, but it seems unlikely as there was no official confirmation from the club.

Given that there is reported interest from Juventus – among others – what would you do with Alexis Sánchez? Do you think he can still contribute to the team, or do you think his time at the Camp Nou is drawing to an end?