Manchester City's pursuit of Alexis Sanchez has ramped up with reports they have offered Raheem Sterling plus cash to sign the Chilean striker from Arsenal. But hours after the news broke, it emerged that Arsenal have asked their Premier League rivals for Sergio Aguero to be part of the deal.
Sanchez, who signed from Barcelona in 2014, has scored 53 goals in 103 appearances for the Gunners but only has one year left on his contract at the Emirates Stadium.
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Arsene Wenger has previously said that Sanchez is not for sale, but following Arsenal's 4-0 hammering at Liverpool the striker's future looks even more in doubt.
The big shock from today's news is the potential of Sterling or Aguero being offered in exchange as part of the deal.
England winger Sterling signed from Liverpool for £49million in 2015 and has made a strong start to the season with two goals in City's opening three Premier League games. The Guardian reports that Sterling is understood to be 'bemused' by the decision, but could be open for a return to London having started his career with QPR's youth side.
Considering the bad headlines about Arsenal in the past few days a deal involving Aguero seems far-fetched. But The Independent says Arsenal have asked for Aguero to be part of a deal for Sanchez.
Some on Twitter were surprised by the Sanchez-Sterling-Aguero transfer rumour:
Others felt Arsenal's woes are unlikely to be solved by signing Sterling:
Some Liverpool fans saw the funny side:
Arsenal supporters, meanwhile, weren't quite so amused: