Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez to be subject of £25m Manchester City transfer bid in January
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.
Arsene Wenger confirms plans to start contract talks with key duo
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.
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.
Arsenal 2017/18 fixtures
West Brom (H) – Mon 25 Sep
BATE Borisov (A) – Europa League – Thu 28 Sep
Brighton (H) – Sun 1 Oct
Watford (A) – Sat 14 Oct
Crveba Zvezda (A) – Europa League – Thu 19 Oct
Everton (A) – Suny 22 Oct
Swansea (H) – Sat 28 Oct
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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