UK Edition
Manchester City send delegation to Chile in anticipation of finalising deal for Alexis Sanchez
Manchester City have sent a delegation to Chile in anticipation of finalising a deal for Alexis Sanchez, in the event they can first persuade Arsenal to sell the wantaway striker before the close of a frenetic transfer window on Thursday night.
However, City’s hopes of signing Jonny Evans from West Brom were hanging in the balance as of Wednesday night with their misfit defender Eliaquim Mangala wavering over a move to the Hawthorns and Arsenal hoping to exploit the impasse after having a £25 million bid rejected for the Northern Ireland centre-half.
City are understood to have a team on the ground in Macul, Santiago - where Chile are due to play Paraguay in a World Cup qualifier at 11.30pm UK time on Thursday, half an hour after the close of the window - that are positioned to conduct a medical and finalise terms should Arsenal sanction Sanchez’s sale.
There were indications on Wednesday night that City had raised their opening offer of £50 million, which was rejected on Tuesday, in the belief a straight cash deal closer to £70 million could clinch a deal given that Arsenal risk losing Sanchez for nothing next summer.
Arsenal have asked about taking Raheem Sterling, in addition to a substantial fee, in return for Sanchez. Yet with City increasingly opposed to allowing the England forward to leave, Arsenal could seek to reinvest the proceeds from a cash sale in a last-gasp dash for Paris Saint-Germain and Germany winger Julian Draxler.
City’s pursuit of Evans is no less complicated and could yet play into the hands of Arsenal. Evans is understood to be eager to join City, who are prepared to meet West Brom’s £30m valuation after a second bid worth £21m was rejected almost three weeks ago.
But Mangala’s reticence about moving in the other direction has been holding up a deal. The France defender had been holding out hope of joining Inter Milan, who have so far tried and failed to secure a deal for Arsenal’s Shkodran Mustafi.
If City manage to sign Sanchez, who stands to earn around £325,000 a week, Pep Guardiola’s hopes of landing Evans could be damaged if Mangala’s £140,000-a-week salary is not removed from the wage bill, which would potentially pave the way for Arsenal to sign the former Manchester United defender. Leicester City have also had a fresh £25m bid rejected for Evans, but are a distant third in the race.
City have not entirely ruled out the possibility of being able to sign Evans in addition to Sanchez if Mangala stays but there would be more chance at this stage of Evans joining Pep Guardiola’s squad if the Sanchez deal does not happen.
Evans has been training all week at City’s CFA headquarters with Northern Ireland, who are due to fly to San Marino at 11am on Thursday ahead of their World Cup qualifier on Friday.
As things stand, Evans is due to travel with the rest of his Northern Ireland team-mates, unless developments before then alter the picture and he stays behind to undergo a medical with City or Arsenal, or either club send a delegation to San Marino.
The situation is far from ideal for Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill ahead of a must-win game against San Marino, especially as he is already without his other two Premier League centre-halves - Gareth McAuley and Craig Cathcart, through injury - and provides further vindication for those in favour of having the transfer window close before the season starts. Nonetheless, O’Neill said he was willing to be flexible if the situation demands it.
“Until anything is agreed, we really can’t put a process in place to be honest,” O’Neill said. “Our intention is unless something changes dramatically between now and when we depart, Jonny will be part of that [travelling party]. If something extreme happens and we have to try and facilitate that, then we would look at that.
“It would have been great if it had been done last week or whenever but the clubs aren’t doing it intentionally to make it more difficult for us. Whatever happens, Jonny will be ready to play on Friday night, I’ve no doubts about that.”
By the same token, Juan Antonio Pizzi, the Chile head coach, expects Sanchez to be in the right frame of mind to face Paraguay. “He is calm. Whatever happens, regardless of which option is taken, his future is very good,” Pizzi said.
“Lots could happen, but we also have to take into account that each player must not lose concentration. If a player wants authorisation for one thing or another, it is us (the Chilean federation) which takes the decision.”
Meanwhile, on a chaotic day at City, Fabian Delph turned down a move to Stoke City in the belief he can force his way into Guardiola’s first team.
Stoke were keen to sign Delph on loan or in a permanent £10 million deal but the England midfielder has opted to stay at City, despite being sixth in their midfield pecking order.
Two players who do appear to be on their way out at City, though, are Wilfried Bony and Jason Denayer. Ivory Coast striker Bony is edging closer to re-joining Swansea in a £13 million deal that would pave the way for Fernando Llorente to join Chelsea.
Denayer has flown to Istanbul to finalise a season-long loan move to Galatasaray, where he spent the 2015-16 campaign on loan, after the Belgium defender decided against joining Celtic.