With rumours rife that Mesut Ozil is ready to commit his future to Arsenal, the intentions of Alexis Sanchez are far less certain.
The 28-year-old has been spending some quality time with his beloved dogs since last weekend's FA Cup final, but since the spring has been strongly linked with a move to Bayern Munich. And while that thought might horrify Gooners the world over, there is one contingent in the far north of Chile - the Atacama Desert city of Calama to be precise - who are waiting with baited breath in the hope Sanchez secures a move to the Bundesliga champions.
Cobreloa, the club who raised Sanchez for years ahead of his move to Udinese, stand to earn a potentially club-altering sum of money should their former prodigy leave Arsenal for Bayern.
As per FIFA's 'solidarity mechanism', were Sanchez to join a club outside of England before the expiry of his Arsenal contract, Cobreloa would be entitled to a portion of the fee.
Article 21 of the world governing body's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players states:
If a professional is transferred before the expiry of his contract, any club that has contributed to his education and training shall receive a proportion of the compensation paid to his former club (solidarity
contribution).
In Sanchez's case, Cobreloa would be entitled to all of this compensation having trained him since childhood. The figure is believed to be in the region of 640 million pesos, or €845,000 - at least according to Cobreloa president Walter Aguilera, who spoke with local newspaper El Mercurio de Calama.
Club treasurer Jorge Pereira has explained that the president's figure is "based on the numbers that are spoken from Bayern Munich".
While not a massive sum of money within a wider footballing context, it would revolutionise Cobreloa, who currently operate in the less-than-lucrative Chilean Primera B division.
As to whether the move will come to fruition remains to be seen. Last month, Chile accidentally listed Sanchez as a Bayern player when their international squad was announced. This week, his international teammate and prospective Bayern companion Arturo Vidal told reporters in Chile:
I told [Sanchez] it was the opportunity for him to be in a big team.
If he wants to compare with the best, he has to go to the best team.
Were he to sign an extension at Arsenal, or depart at the end of his deal in 12 months time, Cobreloa would not receive compensation.
