Liverpool attempted to gatecrash Manchester United’s expected signing of Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez, however, the deal fell through after the Reds were not willing to meet the player’s wage demands, according to reports.
The Chile international is expected to become a Red Devils player in the next 24 hours after he missed out on the Gunners’ 4-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
When asked surrounding the 29-year-old’s exclusion from his matchday squad, the Emirates Stadium boss Arsene Wenger revealed that the attacker was en-route to Old Trafford in order to complete his medical.
EXCLUSIVE: Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan agrees move to Arsenal in a deal that will see Gunners forward Alexis Sanchez go opposite way. It’s a straight swap, no money involved. Paperwork complete, Mkhitaryan will undergo a medical over the next 2 days #MUFC#AFC
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) January 20, 2018
However, had Liverpool had their way, Sanchez may well have been travelling to the north-west to join them rather than rivals United.
According to the Daily Star, as quoted by the Daily Express, the Merseysiders attempted to table an 11th-hour bid in order to capture the Arsenal star.
From previous reports, it was thought that the Reds were willing to offer a fee in the region of £35m for the former Barcelona forward, who has less than six months remaining on his current deal in north London.
But despite the proposed figure residing in the acceptable ballpark from Arsenal’s perspective, Liverpool were forced to end their interest after the discovery of Sanchez’s wage demands.
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Before the opening of the January transfer window the Chilean looked set to join Manchester City, but the Citizens were not willing to match the eye-watering reported £400k-a-week pay the 29-year-old is expected to put his name to when he finalises his United switch, a deal which will see him earn around £10m across his four-and-a-half-year deal.
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