Report: Manchester United enter race to sign Manchester City target with higher bid

What's the story?

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is not going to sit back and allow rival boss Pep Guardiola of Manchester City to sign available attacking players and he has now chosen to target Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez.

According to The Guardian, the Red Devils are even ready to offer the north London club £25m - more than City have bid for the Chilean star. City had submitted a £20m bid and had reportedly agreed terms with the 29-year-old.

However, United are also ready to add Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the deal in what they hope could be a player-plus-cash swap deal.

In case you didn't know...

Alexis Sanchez will be a free agent this summer after refusing to sign a contract extension at the Emirates. Having arrived in 2014, the Chilean forward has grown disillusioned with the club and Wenger's project and had even tried to move to City last summer.

However, a deadline day deal fell through when the Gunners failed to sign a suitable replacement in time. Wenger had been trying to lure AS Monaco's Thomas Lemar but both clubs were unable to come to an agreement despite there being reports of a £92m bid.

The heart of the matter

Despite scoring a career-high 30 goals in all competitions last season, he has only managed to find the back of the net 8 times this season.

Alexis Sanchez has been looking to leave Arsenal since the summer of 2017

Alexis has also been affected by Chile's failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and rumours suggest he is very unhappy at the club - especially after they failed to qualify for the Champions League.

"I want Alexis to stay longer. I have no problem if he signs with us now or in June." - Arsene Wenger

Guardiola signed him when he was Barcelona manager and could do so again. With Gabriel Jesus sidelined with a knee injury, the Catalan boss wants to shore up his attack to maintain their lead at the top of the Premier League.

Video: The best of Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal

Author's take

It seems a bit odd for United to try and sign Alexis Sanchez when Mourinho has a wealth of options in Romelu Lukaku, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford in the squad. While his work-rate is something Mourinho would admire in Alexis, it is hard to see him play for Mourinho when Guardiola wants to bring him to the Etihad.

City have also reportedly agreed to pay him £250,000 per week. Coupled with a signing bonus and a better chance of winning trophies, Alexis would rather move to City.

Arsenal will not be looking to take Mkhitaryan off United's books either. With Mesut Ozil still very much an Arsenal player, the Armenian midfielder's high wages will be an issue the Gunners could do without - even if they are getting a few million more from United.