Alexis Sánchez will not play for Arsenal at Bournemouth today as his inevitable departure draws nearer. However, it seems it is the red part of Manchester that is currently winning the race for his signature.
There are widespread reports this morning that Sánchez now prefers a move to Manchester United. After Arsène Wenger admitted defeat last Friday and announced that Sánchez would not be signing a new deal with the club attention turned to the price clubs may have to pay in order to secure his signature six months early.
Now, the Guardian, John Cross in the Mirror and The Telegraph are all reporting that the Chilean is set to sign for Jose Mourinho's side. Perhaps most interestingly, Matt Law reports that on top of the £30m fee Arsenal want, his agent Fernando Felicevich is expected to want £10m to secure a deal in this window.
Manchester United have paid agent fees before, with Mino Raiola reputedly securing £41m in 2016 with the Paul Pogba deal and £12m for Romelu Lukaku last summer.
Manchester City had been favourites for the deal given their interest last summer and the proposed reunion between Pep Guardiola and Sanchez. However, Arsenal's interest in Henrikh Mkhitaryan gives Manchester United further leverage as well as their preparation to pay the fees involved.
In a season where it seems the title race is now a formality, at least we have transfer sagas to provide some level of interest.
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