Manchester United are set to win the race to sign Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez. It is believed there will be no player exchange involved despite earlier reports, with Manchester United set to pay Arsenal £35 Million for their want-away star. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is likely to be going in the opposite direction should a deal be reached between him and Arsenal. Should that happen United will not be expected to offer Arsenal a fee for Alexis Sanchez with it simply being a straight swap. There have been fresh reports that Manchester City were set to put together another push for the Chilean however it is understood they have now given up in their pursuit for the forward. Baring a late remarkable u-turn Alexis Sanchez will be a Manchester United player before the end of the week.
Alexis Sanchez's days as Arsenal's number 7 are coming to an end. Manchester City have been courting the Chilean for almost a year now and it appeared they were finally set to get their man. That was until Jose Mourinho's Manchester United stepped forward. Many critics have branded Alexis Sanchez a 'money grabber' for even considering the Red Devils. Manchester United are one of the biggest and if not the biggest club in world football. For anyone to suggest a move to the red half of Manchester is purely financially motivated is quite frankly a complete joke. In fact, had Sanchez opted to wait for move to Manchester City in the summer he would have stood to have gained £30 Million merely from the signing on bonus not to mention the wages, Adding this gross amount and the fact that Alexis Sanchez is so 'desperate' to play under Pep again then why has United's willingness to pay his agent's fee turned his head? The truth is, wherever Sanchez ends up it won't purely be financially motivated. The media's painting of United has 'money' has been nothing short of complete and utter disrespect. This is Manchester United we are talking about not Anzhi. As Gary Neville correctly pointed out, the talk on the move to City has been based on the lure of Pep not City as a club themselves. Pep Guardiola is not a permanent fixture. The hysteria of Manchester United Football Club is.