Manchester United are the favourites to sign Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal after Manchester City dropped out.
Manchester United are confident of signing Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal despite long-standing admiration from Manchester City and late interest from Chelsea, according to The Independent.
The report adds that United to expect to sign the Chilean in either a £35m transfer, or a player-plus-cash deal which would see out-of-favour midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan move to the Emirates Stadium.
That the Armenian is disposable to United shows their dearth of options in wide forward areas, and with Romelu Lukaku the established number nine, Sanchez is somewhat of a luxury signing for the Red Devils.
Jose Mourinho seemingly feels that to get Sanchez, whose contract expires in the summer, for such a low price is too good an opportunity to turn down, but could the 29-year-old’s arrival derail the development of Jesse Lingard?
The 25-year-old is enjoying his best run in United’s first team and has justified Mkhitaryan’s exile with eight goals in his last 11 matches from the same No.10 position which may be being lined up for Sanchez.
Despite his career-best form, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are probably held in higher esteem for the future than Lingard, so he may be the player sacrificed to accommodate Sanchez in the team.
After several years out on loan or on the fringes at Old Trafford, it has been playing regularly in a consistent position which has trigger Lingard’s impressive growth, and any change to that could see him regress.
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