Manchester United have reportedly agreed an astonishing £500,000-a-week deal with Alexis Sanchez, who is set to leave Arsenal imminently.
According to a report by Daily Mirror, Alexis Sanchez is set to become one of the highest-paid players in the world after agreeing personal terms with Manchester United. The Red Devils are finalising the terms of the deal with Arsenal with the hopes of signing the Chilean forward before the end of the week.
The Alexis Sanchez transfer saga has been one filled with twists and turns, becoming one of the most talked about transfer stories of all time. The Chile international, who has been Arsenal’s top scorer this season (8 goals) despite not being at his best, has been the subject of intense transfer speculation for the better part of the last 12 months.
For the longest time, it had looked like Manchester City were the favourites to sign the player, having had a deadline day bid rejected by Arsenal. But, with Manchester United entering the fray for Sanchez, the blue half of the city have found the going to be tough in pursuit of Sanchez.
Despite widespread reports of Manchester City agreeing personal terms with the 29-year-old, it is the Red Devils that seem to have taken an insurmountable lead in his pursuit.
Arsene Wenger on Alexis Sanchez to Man United: “It can happen, it can as well not happen. If it doesn’t happen he will play on Saturday. It is likely to happen but at any moment things can break down. As long as it’s not over the line you have to accept it may not happen.” pic.twitter.com/rjUlTwaPfi
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) January 18, 2018
Manchester United are reportedly ready to pay Arsenal’s £35 million asking price, a figure that City deemed to be too steep, subsequently pulling out of the race to sign him.
Indeed, Manchester United’s willingness to pull out all the stops to sign Sanchez is not surprising, considering their need for attacking reinforcements. Jose Mourinho was desperate to sign a winger last summer, albeit unsuccessfully so, and it seems it’s better late than never for the Portuguese manager.
Chelsea were also briefly linked with Sanchez, but the rumours of a cross-London switch died down as quickly as they had surfaced. In the end, it’s Manchester United who seem to have prevailed in the race to sign the Arsenal man, possibly even before they play Burnley this weekend.
The report entails that Sanchez has agreed a mammoth £500,000-a-week four-and-a-half-year deal with Manchester United, which would make him one of the game’s highest-paid players. With the deal ever-so-close, the only thing that seems to be holding the move up is Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The report suggests that Arsenal are negotiating a deal that involves the Armenian, whose wage demands is the final detail that needs to be sorted out. For all intents and purposes though, Sanchez is now on the verge of joining Manchester United, who would have made a huge statement of intent.
It now remains to be seen how quickly all parties can agree on a deal for the Chilean to make his way to Old Trafford to become the latest marquee signing at Manchester United.
