Henrikh key for Sanchez
MANCHESTER United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan now holds the key in their bid to land Alexis Sanchez after Chelsea cooled their interest. United are willing to trade Mkhitaryan in a straight swap deal for Sanchez but the Armenia international’s agent Mino Raiola said his client will only go if he is happy with the contract offered by Arsenal.
He also wants to see if the Gunners succeed in signing his former Borussia Dortmund team-mate Pierre-Emerick Aubayemang.
Mkhitaryan, 28, has two and a half years left on his Old Trafford contract – worth about £20million – and is likely to demand a ‘golden goodbye’ payment because he has not asked to leave.
Raiola made it clear the player will not be bullied into the move by saying: “United are not going to sign Sanchez unless Mkhi
agrees to join Arsenal. He’s going to do what is best for him. He has two and a half years left on his contract, so it’s his decision.
“Sanchez is part of Mkhi’s deal. Not the other way around. Without him, Sanchez simply cannot go to United.” Raiola, an influential figure at United because he also represents Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, added: “Mkhi’s problems at United are purely related to playing football. He has no problem with the manager. It is not personal.
“He doesn’t have to leave. At this moment the chances of a move to Arsenal are low, but life is dynamic. This is a great deal for Arsenal. They need better, younger players and they have to invest. So it’s up to Arsenal to put a deal in place and right now a deal is a long way off.” Raiola said Mkhitaryan was not the “makeweight” and any deal would be a straight swap with no cash involved because both players are valued at £35m.
Meanwhile, Antonio Conte confirmed Sanchez will not be joining Chelsea. The Blues boss said: “I like to talk about a situation that could be real. Now it is not important to talk about Sanchez, because he’s not our good problem, so why do I have to waste words on nothing?”
When asked to confirm it is irrelevant because Chelsea will not sign Sanchez, Conte replied: “Yes.”
JOSE MOURINHO is close to agreeing a two-year extension to his Manchester United contract that would see him stay at least until the summer of 2021.