Pep ready to take the jump for Sanchez!
PEP Guardiola wants to sign Alexis Sanchez this month amid growing concerns over City’s ability to cope with their quadruple bid.
The Blues manager was due to hold talks with director of football Txiki Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano over a move for the Arsenal striker during this transfer window.
Gabriel Jesus’ knee ligament injury has left City light up front, with the Brazilian set to be out for four to six weeks.
He is expected to be back for the resumption of the Champions League next month - but Guardiola believes his players are feeling the effects of such an exhausting workload.
City’s hierarchy have long-prefered to wait until the summer to sign Sanchez, when he will become a free agent.
But they have never ruled out the possibility of signing him midway through the campaign if there was the danger of losing him to a European rival like Paris St Germain.
Injuries were also a potential factor over whether to launch a cutprice bid this month - and Jesus’ medial collateral ligament damage has left Guardiola with the need for more options up front.
He had concerns Sanchez might upset the balance of an attack that has fired City to a 15-point lead in the Premier League.
But the absence of Jesus leaves him with just Sergio Aguero as a recognised centre-forward.
Guardiola is convinced Sanchez will add a new dimension to his attack - which is why he made him one of his top targets last summer.
His admiration for the Chilean remains as strong as ever, and even last month he did not want to rule out a move sooner, rather than later.
City are confident they remain the 29-year-old’s first choice after rejecting Arsenal’s attempts to sign him to a new long-term deal.
That’s why the Blues’ hierarchy believed they could afford to hold off a move until he becomes a free agent - even in the knowledge that he is free to talk to Europe’s giants as of now. They became aware of two bids for him last month, which preceded talks between Guardiola, Begiristain Soriano and chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak over January transfer priorities before Christmas. A centre-back remains a key position for Guardiola to fill, following Vincent Kompany’s ongoing fitness problems - but his desire to be reunited with Sanchez burns brightly. He signed him for Barcelona in 2011 and believes he has improved under Arsene Wenger’s guidance, which has seen him develop into one of the deadliest strikers in the Premier League. Arsenal want in excess of £25m for their prize asset after pulling out of a £60m deadline day deal with City in the summer. The Blues believed that was a major blunder on their rivals’ part - and their stance was they would only offer a nominal fee if they were to bid this month. But it is likelier they will have to offer much closer to Arsenal’s reduced valuation if Guardiola is to land his man.
Guardiola is convinced Sanchez will add a new dimension to his attack James Robson