By Miles Chambers
26 Jun 2011 10:51:00
Alexis Sanchez, Udinese (Getty Images)
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Manchester City are to bid £38 million for Udinese’s Alexis Sanchez in an attempt to beat Barcelona and Chelsea in the race for the Chilean’s signature.
The Daily Mail are reporting that the Eastlands outfit are making their second bid for the highly-rated after their first bid of £32m was turned down by the Serie A side.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is reportedly willing to make a statement of intent in a bid for the 22-year-old to make him new manager Andre Villas-Boas’ first signing at Stamford Bridge.
Sanchez was rumoured to have agreed terms with Barcelona last week but, if reports are true, City are looking to lure the attacker to the Premier League instead.
Udinese are said to be holding out for £44m for the Chilean international, a fee Barcelona are unwilling to meet.
Instead, the Catalan club are to prioritise the transfer of Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas and Villarreal’s Giuseppe Rossi, who used to play for Manchester United.
City have so far had a far quieter transfer window than their neighbours at Old Trafford, who have already signed Englishmen Phil Jones and Ashley Young, with the acquisition of Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea expected to be announced imminently.
With as many as eight unwanted players on manager Roberto Mancini’s books, it’s expected they will trim their squad in order to add to it.
The Blues have spent more than any other club in five of the last six transfer windows and, with this proposed latest bid for Udinese’s star striker, look to be continuing their recent tradition of spending big in the market.
There is guaranteed Champions League group stage football at Eastlands next season too, after City beat Arsenal to third place in the Premier League last term.
Sanchez joined the Italian team in 2006 and, after loan spells at Colo-Colo and River Plate, has established himself as an important player there.
He has scored 12 times in 36 appearances for the Chile national side, including playing a starring role for them in the Fifa 2010 World Cup, helping the country get out of the group stages.