Manchester City are prepared to forget their pursuit of Alexis Sanchez and allow the Arsenal forward to move to Manchester United this month due to the escalating costs of completing a deal, sources have said.
United’s late interest in Sanchez, with Armenia midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan potentially being used as part of any deal, is being taken seriously by the City hierarchy.
They value Sanchez at £20 million due to the 29-year-old having just six months remaining on his Arsenal contract, and sources have said that City will not meet Arsenal’s £35m asking price or agent fees which amount to £5m.
City had been close to securing the Chile forward last August after agreeing a £60m deal with Arsenal on the final day of the summer transfer window.
But Arsenal’s failure to sign Monaco’s Thomas Lemar as a replacement saw the London club pull the plug on the deal, forcing Sanchez to remain at the Emirates.
United’s readiness to offload Mkhitaryan also gives the Old Trafford outfit an advantage over City, who have no plans to offer a player in exchange and ruled out using Raheem Sterling as a makeweight for Sanchez back in August.
Sanchez has grown so unhappy and disenchanted at Arsenal that he is determined to leave this month — a reality that has left City accepting that he may choose to leave for United before the Jan. 31 deadline if he has no viable alternative.
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