The word in the Arsenal dressing room is that Alexis Sanchez “will finally be allowed to leave” in the new year.
So claims the Daily Telegraph, which says that Manchester City will finally get their man in January for a sum believed to be far less than the £60million they offered the Gunners in August.
That offer failed but apparently City will come again after Christmas and they expect to sign the Chilean marksman for “significantly less”.
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With Sanchez’s contract expiring in June, Arsenal are facing up to the prospect of losing him on a free transfer at the end of the season so the chance of making a few quid - reports suggest around £20m - on the 28-year-old will be tough to turn down.
Sanchez, who won’t be going to the World Cup after Chile’s 3-0 loss to Brazil last night, is free to talk to clubs from 1 January and sign a pre-contract for next season any time after that date and the Telegraph says City boss Pep Guardiola will be hovering outside the Emirates the moment the clock strikes midnight on 31 December.
The paper says that there “will be a sense of relief from some players at Arsenal” the moment the South American leaves with the saga allegedly proving a disruption in the north London dressing room.
As for the gossip linking Sanchez with Paris Saint-Germain, the Telegraph claims that the French giants are “unlikely to make a move” because their priority is to sell some players in order to comply with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations having spent £366m on Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in August.
Meanwhile could one of Mbappe’s former Monaco teammates be Etihad-bound? Broadcaster ESPN says that having already signed Benjamin Mendy and Bernardo Silva from the French champions, the Sky Blues now have their eye on Fabinho.
Like Sanchez, the 23-year-old midfielder was once a target for Paris Saint-Germain but with their finances under scrutiny the way is clear for City to sign him.
ESPN reckon it will cost them £67m but Guardiola is reportedly “an admirer” of Fabinho, and believes his no-nonsense approach will stiffen his side.
