Arsenal have turned down a £50m bid from Premier League rivals Manchester City for forward Alexis Sanchez, according to a report by BBC.
The BBC said should City’s offer be more tempting, they might sell if City would also trade Raheem Sterling along with the transaction.
It is not clear yet whether a deal could be struck before Thursday’s transfer deadline. Sanchez was a pillar of Arsenal last season, scoring 24 goals. According to the BBC, Guardiola wants to buy the Chilean without any precondition or a side deal involving Ster. England forward Sterling, 22, has featured in all three of City’s games so far this season.
However he is not guaranteed a starting role at Etihad Stadium following the summer arrival of Bernardo Silva from Monaco. According to BBC Sport Sterling would be interested in moving back to London should he become part of the Sanchez deal. Sanchez joined Arsenal from Barcelona, where he played under Guardiola, in 2014 for a fee of about £35m and won the FA Cup for the second time last season.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said earlier this month that Sanchez would “respect” his decision and stay. The Chilean made his first appearance of the season in Arsenal’s 4-0 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday, coming off for Alexandre Lacazette after 62 minutes.
