Alexis Sanchez could be handed a January escape route by Man City (Picture: Getty)

Manchester City will bid again for Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez in the January transfer window in a bid to see off competition from foreign clubs for his signature, according to latest reports.

The Chile international is due to be a free agent at the end of this season, and looks highly unlikely to sign a new contract with Arsenal after pushing for a move for much of the summer.

While Arsenal blocked Sanchez’s exit on this occasion, they are now powerless to prevent him leaving next summer, though City know they have to act fast to prevent him agreeing a deal with a club from abroad.

Sanchez would be free to start negotiating with non-Premier League teams from January onwards, meaning City are planning to try their luck with a £25million bid to see if Arsenal could be persuaded to sell in the middle of the season.

Sanchez looks to be coming to the end of his time at Arsenal (Picture: Getty)
Pep Guardiola made Sanchez a top summer target for City (Picture: Getty)

Arsene Wenger has previously made it clear he plans to keep Sanchez for the duration of this season at least, so it remains to be seen if City can have any luck with a relatively low offer at a time when the Gunners would struggle to sign a replacement.

Still, the London Evening Standard claim they will face competition from Bayern Munich and Juventus, who are preparing to open talks with Sanchez this winter.

Arsenal have had to cope with losing star players to bigger clubs on a number of occasions in recent years, but have done relatively well not to be bullied over Sanchez.

Sanchez, 28, has refused to sign a new contract with the Gunners (Picture: Getty)

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The 28-year-old could have commanded a fee of around £70m if he’d left in the summer, but Arsenal preferred to keep the player instead of pocketing the money.

City were thought to be the former Barcelona man’s preferred choice, but Manchester United also recently threw their hat into the ring, if reports are to be believed.

Paris Saint-Germain were also among his European admirers in the summer, but it seems likely that their interest will have cooled since signing both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in attack.

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