Manchester City to bid for Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez in January if PSG move in

Arsenal FC via Getty Images
James Olley22 December 2017

Manchester City are prepared to wait until next summer to sign Alexis Sanchez — unless Paris Saint-Germain force their hand by making a move in January.

City believe the Arsenal forward is set on a move to the Etihad Stadium and is willing to see out the final six months of his Gunners deal before reuniting with former boss Pep Guardiola at the end of the season.

After a £60million deadline-day bid collapsed due to Arsenal’s failure to land Monaco’s Thomas Lemar as a replacement, City had originally planned to make a fresh offer for the Chilean in January.

However, City have since surged 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League and with Sanchez cup-tied for the Champions League, having featured for the Gunners in the Europa League this term, the club are thought to be sceptical about paying up to £40m for a player they can sign on a free in the next transfer window.

With Sanchez showing no interest in signing a new Arsenal deal, said to be worth £300,000 a week, including image rights, City’s main obstacle could be PSG.

The Ligue 1 side are able to easily match the £400,000 a week City will offer Sanchez and, significantly, are free to talk to the player directly from January 1, while City officially have to agree terms with Arsenal first.

Any progress in talks between PSG and Sanchez would trigger a bid from City, with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger adamant neither he nor Mesut Ozil will leave next month unless “something unbelievable” happens.

Manchester United have previously expressed an interest in Sanchez but City believe they are in pole position to sign him.

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