Alexis Sánchez Signs With CF Montréal, Will Wear No. 10 | OneFootball

CF Montréal have signed Alexis Sánchez on a free transfer, and the 37-year-old Chilean will wear the No. 10 jersey. The number signals how much the club expects from him, though it doesn't mean he'll immediately become the team's focal point.

His fit will depend on adaptation to MLS, physical condition over the rest of the season, and how coach Philippe Eullaffroy chooses to deploy him. Montréal already has solid attacking pieces, and the hope is that Sánchez adds quality and efficiency to a group still searching for its best offensive shape.

Alexis Sánchez needs no introduction

Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Marseille, Udinese and Sevilla make up a career built almost entirely at the top level of European football. For Chile, Sánchez became one of the country's greatest players and a key figure in back-to-back Copa América titles in 2015 and 2016.

Last season at Sevilla, he scored four goals and added two assists — numbers far from his peak, but ones that put his current stage into perspective. Montréal isn't signing the Arsenal or Barcelona version of Sánchez. They're getting a 37-year-old who remains well conditioned for his age, still carries technical quality, and can play multiple attacking roles, but whose current level needs to shape how the team uses him.

Where does he fit at Montréal?

That's the central question. Eullaffroy has kept much of the attacking structure used under predecessor Marco Donadel but reshaped the midfield, running a more conservative trio of Victor Loturi, Sean Longstaff and Samuel Piette without a true No. 10. That's put extra weight on the wide players in the buildup.

Hennadii Synchuk, Noah Streit and Wikelman Carmona have filled those wide roles, with Synchuk and Carmona, naturally more central players, pushed out to the flanks. Carmona has been injured and hasn't played under Eullaffroy yet. Even striker Daniel Ríos has drifted wide at times. Iván Jaime, previously an option through the middle, returned to Porto after Montréal didn't finalize a permanent deal.

Sánchez has spent much of his career in wide channels and could slot into one of those spots. The question is how much a pressing-heavy wide role would demand physically from a 37-year-old. A more interesting option might be using him closer to the center — not replacing the wingers, but giving him freedom to drop into buildup play and find pockets across the front line.

Prince Owusu could be the key partner

If Sánchez ends up in a more central role, Prince Owusu looks like a natural complement. Owusu has 11 goals and six assists in 20 games this season, making him Montréal's most efficient attacking weapon.

Montréal already has multiple creators — Synchuk's technical quality, Longstaff's passing range, Loturi's overall form — but Owusu is the one converting that production into goals. Pairing Sánchez's experience and vision with Owusu's finishing could be the piece Montréal's attack has been missing.