The prospect of Alexis Sanchez, 28, leaving Arsenal this summer will increase with a reported £70m bid for the Chilean international being prepared at Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola has made Sanchez his top priority for the remainder of this transfer window according to the Sunday Mirror. With a salary package in the region of £400k per week, Arsenal will struggle to retain their mercurial striker, even for the last year of his contract.
Arsene Wenger has been resolute in his determination to hold onto Sanchez but recently admitted that the ultimate decision rests with the club’s unpopular owner, Stan Kroenke. Comments attributed to unnamed board members suggested that any bid over £50m was likely to see the player sold. Wenger countered that the club could forgo the fee in their pursuit of a return to the Champions League.
The bookmakers are convinced it will turn Arsenal heads. Manchester City’s odds of successfully landing one of the Premier League’s most exciting players have shortened to 2/1.
Sanchez is expected to make his first appearance of the season at Anfield next weekend in a genuine test of Arsenal’s aspirations. Their displays against Leicester City and Stoke City were unimpressive and the Gunners are desperate for their striker to make a goalscoring return.
Whether it will be his final appearance in an Arsenal shirt will depend on the nature of City’s bid.
