Manchester City are reportedly set to test the waters for Alexis Sanchez by lodging a £60 million bid for the Arsenal foward
According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, Manchester City are set to test Arsenal’s resolve of keeping Alexis Sanchez beyond the summer transfer window by putting a £60 million bid on the table for the Chilean. Arsene Wenger has gone on record to state that the player will not be departing from the club this summer.
Sanchez is widely regarded as one of the best players in the Premier League, having established himself as an instrumental figure for Arsenal since making his £35 million move from Barcelona in the summer of 2014.
Coming off a highly successful season on a personal level, the player’s stock is sky high. In all, Sanchez made 51 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal last season, with an impeccable return of 30 goals and 19 assists to show for his efforts.
Meanwhile, with Arsenal enduring a largely disappointing campaign that ended with a 5th place finish in the Premier League, the Chile international’s future with the North London club has become increasingly uncertain.
Manchester City Boss Pep Guardiola has instructed his club to make a bid of around £60m to Arsenal for Alexis Sanchez. [Telegraph] pic.twitter.com/kPWBMED6eF
— City Chief ️ (@City_Chief) August 14, 2017
To make matters worse for the North London club, the player has less than 12 months remaining on his current deal, with little progress over a renewal. With intense speculation surrounding his future at the Emirates, several clubs have lined up to prise Sanchez away from Arsenal.
The front-runners in his pursuit, though, are Manchester City. Pep Guardiola already has a wealth of attacking options at his disposal, with the likes of David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero to choose from for the positions up front.
Nevertheless, the Spaniard remains hot on the tails of Sanchez to create a truly formidable squad that can challenge on all four fronts and dominate English and European football for years. And the Citizens are prepared to offer him an eye-watering £400,000-a-week deal including bonuses and image rights.
The aforementioned figure is closer to the amount that Sanchez has been demanding from Arsenal, who have recently offered him a contract worth £300,000 per week. City are also set to lodge a £60 million deal to test Arsenal’s resolve.
Arsene Wenger has remained adamant in recent weeks in the club’s stance on the 28-year-old, claiming that they will not sell the player this summer. On top of that, the Arsenal boss has also insisted that Sanchez will not be allowed to join a Premier League rival.
So while City’s chances of securing the player’s services do seem bleak, the aforementioned offer could possibly be too good to refuse, with less than a year left on his current deal at the Emirates. It now remains to be seen if Sanchez indeed joins City, or if Arsenal are able to keep hold of their prized asset.
