One that got away 🤦‍♂️ : Alexis Sánchez to Liverpool | OneFootball

Liverpool have been there or thereabouts for a number of big-name players in the past, only to not get the deal over the line.

David Silva looked nailed-on to don the red shirt before he joined Manchester City in 2010. Memphis Depay could have been patrolling his tiger around the streets of Merseyside if he had opted for Anfield over Old Trafford in 2015.

Then there was the case of Alexis Sánchez …

Liverpool came close to winning the title in 2013/14 thanks in part to the 31-goal exploits of Luis Suárez.

However, Suárez’s departure from the club had been 12 months in the making.

The Uruguayan had handed in a transfer request in pursuit of his ambition to play Champions League football, with a move to Arsenal looking likely after they triggered his £40m release clause with that infamous bid of £40m + £1. If only the ‘football banter’ period had been at its peak when that news broke.

Suárez stayed at Anfield but with the agreement that he could move on to pastures new after one more season.

Being so close in the title race and therefore qualifying for the 2014/15 Champions League wasn’t enough to convince the striker to remain at Liverpool and the €82m transfer to Barcelona followed.

Brendan Rodgers had built Liverpool into one of Europe’s most exciting sides and they were in a strong position even without Suárez with Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge more than adequate options.

However, Suárez was one of the best players in the world and he had left a gap that needed filling.

Barcelona’s Alexis Sánchez was the perfect replacement.

Stylistically the Chilean was similar to Suárez.

Quick, agile, impeccable technique and able to produce something out of nothing. Sánchez had scored 47 goals in his 141 games during his time at Camp Nou but was now deemed surplus to requirements following the arrival of Suárez.

An informal transfer swap seemed to make perfect sense.

Arsenal beat Liverpool to the prize after sealing a £38m deal for the then 25-year-old.

Sánchez had his reasons for opting for the move to the Emirates.

Speaking to Eurosport at the time, Sánchez stated: “The reason why I moved to Arsenal is because there were a group of young players with the ambition to achieve things.

“I thought Arsenal was the perfect club for me, the perfect club to win titles and compete in every competition.”

Although, Rodgers had his own beliefs on why the transfer didn’t work out.

“He’s a fantastic player and would have suited us,” he told the Evening Standard.

“That was one where geography dictated where he wanted to go, simple as that.

“It wasn’t due to a lack of ambition by the club, it was about where the player and his family wanted to live.”

Rodgers had built his plans for another title tilt around Sánchez directly taking Suárez’s place in the starting line-up.

The plan B, you could argue, cost the Northern Irish man his job.

The muddled thinking suggests there may not have even been a plan at all. Liverpool went from replacing Suárez with almost like-for-like to replacing him with Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert.

It was to no surprise that Liverpool were knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage and finished 6th in the Premier League.

Sánchez went on to win two FA Cups with the Gunners which was more silverware than what appeared at Anfield.

What might have been for both parties if he had opted for Merseyside over the capital city instead….