Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Jose to pip Pep to Alexis
expires in the summer. They believed a £20m fee and £300,000-a-week deal would be enough to land Guardiola’s No.1 target.
But United are ready to jump ahead of their rivals after making it clear they will meet the 29-year-old’s financial demands. They are understood to have made their approach to Sanchez on January 1.
United will offer the Gunners a player-plus-cash transfer that would see £27m Henrikh Mkhitaryan move the opposite way.
A potential stumbling block is the Armenian’s £200,000-a-week wages.
Signing Sanchez would be a big coup for Mourinho, who told United to step up their spending to compete with the Etihad side.
Former Red Devil Phil Neville believes Sanchez could have a similar impact to Eric Cantona and Robin van Persie at Old Trafford.
He said: “Cantona came out of the hat, Van Persie was a surprise, and they both helped United win titles. It would be a coup to have a player like Sanchez come to them over City. It would be a strong statement.”