Manchester United have been handed a huge boost in the race to sign Arsenal contract rebel Alexis Sanchez, Sky Sports suggest.
Reports this month have suggested that it has been a battle between us and Manchester City for the signature of the Chilean star, who is in the final six months of his deal at the Emirates.
Sanchez is not expected to put pen to paper over a new deal with the Gunners and is expected to be sold this month in order to recoup some of the £35 million they spent on him three-and-a-half-years ago, rather than losing him on a free transfer in the summer.
The 29-year-old was left out of Arsenal’s matchday squad during their 2-1 loss to Bournemouth on Sunday, with manager Arsene Wenger telling cameras before the game that he was left at home because his mind wasn’t right.
Breaking news from Sky Sports this evening is that Manchester City have now pulled out of the race to sign Alexis Sanchez this month as they believe the deal has become too expensive.
Sky Bet have subsequently made Manchester United 1/8 favourites to sign Alexis Sanchez during this winter transfer window:
This means we could well be on course to sign Alexis Sanchez in the next 16 days before the transfer window closes on the night of Wednesday 31 January. Interestingly, we are away to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium on transfer deadline day.
Sky Sports understand that Manchester City’s current offer is worth up to £60 million for the 29-year-old.
Over the past few days we have been linked with offering the Gunners money plus Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Alexis Sanchez. To add more fuel to the fire, Jose Mourinho confirmed before this evening’s game versus Stoke City at Old Trafford that our Armenian attacking midfielder had been left out of the matchday squad because he has been distracted by transfer rumours.
All this suggests that we could well do an exchange deal for Alexis Sanchez, and perhaps do it before this weekend’s trip to Burnley in the Premier League…
