Arsenal will reportedly not let contract rebel Alexis Sanchez leave without a fight when the transfer window re-opens in January and will still demand that Premier League rivals Manchester City pay a sizeable fee to sign the Chilean forward.
Sanchez came within hours of joining City in a £60m deal on transfer deadline day in August, only for the Gunners to pull the plug when they failed to line up a replacement in time.
Sanchez is on course to become a free agent in summer when his contract expires, but City have long been tipped to renew their interest in January and offer £20m.
However, according to The Sun, Arsenal want to see an offer of £30m before they will do business with the Premier League leaders, and a source from City’s side of the table has informed the tabloid that neither side is yet backing down in the saga.
“Arsenal are not blinking yet on Alexis. We will only pay £20m for him in January. Arsenal are still sending the message that they want over £30m. Something has to give either way,” the source from the Etihad Stadium claimed.
“Pep thinks he could prove the difference between Premier and Champions League success and failure. Sanchez still wants the move from what we understand. We feel we have some leverage right now.”
Arsenal paid £35m for Sanchez after the 2014 World Cup and so recouping £30m would see their loss reduced to minimal. But whether City will break first remains to be seen. Assuming they would be the ones to land him for free in July, the question they have to ask themselves now is: is having Sanchez six months earlier worth £10m extra?