Manchester United are reportedly interested in signing Alexis Sanchez this month, which would see them hijack the player’s potential transfer to Manchester City.
Sanchez has long been linked with a move to City, and reports recently suggested that the club are prepared to pay Arsenal £20m to take the Chilean this month, rather than wait until the end of the season and sign him on a free transfer. They agreed a transfer with the Gunners for Sanchez last summer, but the deal collapsed after Arsenal failed to land a replacement.
According to reports, Sanchez has already agreed personal terms with City, worth £250,000 a week, and the club are waiting to hear back from Arsenal after submitting a bid earlier this week. United are understood to have submitted a bid of £25m.
It makes perfect sense https://t.co/AXOZ3CpjW1
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 11, 2018
The report in The Guardian claims:
“Their proposal would also see Sanchez earn more than he has been offered by City, with Mourinho believed to be confident of winning the race despite the forward having played under Guardiola at Barcelona.”
Sanchez looks almost certain to join City, but there’s no doubt that it’s worth bidding for him from United’s perspective, as a player of his quality is difficult to find in the January window.
An interesting aspect of the report focuses on Arsenal signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan as part of the potential deal to take Sanchez to Old Trafford. The Armenian is out of favour with Mourinho, but would possibly be an excellent signing for another team in the top six. His form with Borussia Dortmund, and at times for United, suggests he is a very good player, but it’s just not going to work out for him under Mourinho.
However, as Gary Lineker writes, it would, in theory, make an awful lot of sense for United and Arsenal to effectively swap Sanchez and Mkhitaryan.
Whether Sanchez would agree to this or not is another matter, but this scenario would undoubtedly suit both Arsenal and United.
Interesting turn of events with Manchester United coming in for Sanchez, with Mkhitaryan going the other way. Can see the appeal for both clubs. United get a top player, and stop him going to City, and Arsenal get an excellent footballer in place of someone who wants away.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) January 11, 2018
