The Daily Telegraph claims Manchester City will make a $77 million bid for Alexis Sanchez.
[ MORE: Chelsea to spend $155 million? ]
Sanchez, 28, has less than a year left on his current contract at Arsenal and despite Gunners boss Arsene Wenger saying the Chilean forward will not leave, a fee of this size could well twist Arsenal’s arm given the fact Sanchez will likely walk away for nothing next summer.
Currently out injured with an abdominal injury after returning late to preseason following his exploits with Chile at the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia, Sanchez’s situation will be intriguing to watch in the final two weeks of the transfer window.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola is awash with attacking talents as Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling had to settle for a place on the bench in their 2-0 win at Brighton over the weekend, but per the report Pep is “desperate” to link up with Sanchez, the player he signed when Barcelona boss back in 2011, and City will offer him over $518,000 per week.
This is a catch 22 situation for Arsenal: do you get a huge transfer fee for your star striker who scored 30 goals last season but sell him to a direct PL rival? Or do you keep hold of him and risk losing him for nothing next summer when he could leave for nothing to a PL rival?
West Ham United are closing in on a club-record deal for Sporting Lisbon and Portugal midfielder William Carvalho according to multiple reports.
Carvalho, 25, is consistently ranked among the best holding midfielders in Europe and was a key cog in Portugal’s EURO 2016 success. He will not play for Sporting Lisbon in their UEFA Champions League playoff first leg this week, but that’s only because he’s suspended.
It is believed the Hammers are close to agreeing a fee of $46 million with Sporting for the player after having an initial offer of $35 million turned down.
Slaven Bilic’s side were hammered (pardon the pun) 4-0 by Manchester United at Old Trafford on the opening day which is no disgrace but does point to their defensive weaknesses.
With Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez already arriving this summer, Carvalho’s arrival would complete the overhaul for Bilic. The Croatian manager is entering the final year of his deal at West Ham and he knows he needs a big season (top 10 finish and two good cup runs) to impress owners David Gold and David Sullivan to keep him around.
Carvalho is a true destroyer in midfield and if paired alongside Cheikhou Kouyate or Pedro Obiang, he would considerably strengthen the shield in front of West Ham’s defense. If Carvalho did arrive it is believed several fringe players would be sold with Robert Snodgrass, Sofiane Feghouli and others put up for sale.