Rumor of the Day: Atlético Madrid in for Alexis Sánchez?

Here's a great one. According to the Metro (a dubious source at the very best), citing Don Balon (also a dubious source at best), Atlético Madrid are "interested in the situation of Alexis Sánchez at Arsenal."

Just hold on for a minute.

If you may recall, Atleti were tenuously linked with Alexis in summer 2014, when he moved from Barcelona to London; there wasn't much to indicate the interest was concrete, but apparently it was there. Now, so the story goes, Diego Simeone wants to bring the Chile star back to Spain, and the club is aware that the winger's contract with Arsenal expires in summer 2018. Both articles insist that while Arsenal are very pleased with Alexis despite his injury-interrupted campaign, they recognize that if they cannot tie him down to a new contract at some point in the near future, he may need to be moved on.

Now, it's not often I acknowledge or lend credence to the Metro, but isn't this a fun story? Look, Alexis isn't going anywhere unless something truly drastic happens; he is one of the untouchable players at the Emirates, and his sale would be immensely dissatisfying to a fan base which is hardly ever satisfied. At any rate, the last thing Atleti should be doing is bringing in more new strikers who are unfamiliar with Simeone's style and the demands it places on the human body. Mario Mandzukic, Jackson Martínez and Luciano Vietto are recent proof of that, and two of those forwards no longer play at the Vicente Calderón. Don't think that the club doesn't know this. If Atleti do go on and purchase another forward this summer, the #1 target will be Diego Costa - whom, of course, Simeone is quite familiar with.

So, no, this transfer won't happen, nor should it, but Alexis running around the Calderón in an Atlético shirt would be a cool sight.