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Henrikh Mkhitaryan holds key to whether Alexis Sanchez joins Man Utd
The agent of Henrikh Mkhitaryan has claimed Manchester United’s prospects of signing Alexis Sanchez will hinge on the Armenia playmaker joining Arsenal.
But Mino Raiola has claimed that a deal for Mkhitaryan to move to Arsenal is a “long way off” and that his client will not be pushed into leaving Old Trafford, even if that results in the collapse of United’s bid for Sanchez this month.
Arsenal are believed to want around £35 million for Sanchez but United have instead offered Mkhitaryan – who is valued at a similar fee – to the North London club, who lost out to United for the player when he joined the Manchester club from Borussia Dortmund for £26.3m in 2016.
Raiola believes Mkhitaryan would be a “great” signing for Arsenal but he has told the club they will need to make the 28 year-old a very good offer if he is to consider leaving Old Trafford.
Mkhitaryan has recently fallen out of favour under Mourinho but Raiola insisted the player has “no problem” with the manager. Their differences are believed to centre more around football philosophies but Mkhitaryan is not averse to staying at United for the remainder of the season and reviewing his options in the summer, when he will enter the final two years of his contract.
Raiola also scoffed at the view that Mkhitaryan is being used as a makeweight in a deal for Sanchez. “Sanchez is part of Mkhi’s deal, not the other way around,” said Raiola, who also represents Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sergio Romero at United. “Without him, Sanchez simply cannot go to United. Manchester United are not going to sign Sanchez unless Mkhi agrees to join Arsenal. Mkhi is going to do what is best for him. He has two-and-a-half years left on his contract, so it’s his decision.
“Mkhi’s problems at Man Utd are purely related to playing football. He has no problem with the manager. It is not personal. He doesn’t have to leave.
“At this moment, [the chances are] low, but life is dynamic. This is a great deal for Arsenal. They need better, younger players and they have to invest. So it’s up to Arsenal to put a deal in place and right now a deal is a long way off.”
Mkhitaryan has also been on Inter Milan’s radar although the Italian club have favoured a loan and that is of no interest to United. Dortmund inquired about Mkhitaryan before the transfer window opened but they considered the fees involved excessive and are not believed to have any intention of bidding for their former player.
United are now the front runners to sign Sanchez after Manchester City withdrew from the race for the Arsenal striker after balking at the spiralling cost of the deal. City were of the belief that Chelsea had also entered the running for Sanchez but Antonio Conte, their manager, played that down and Arsenal have had no direct contact from the champions.
“I don’t know but I don’t think so,” Conte said when asked about Chelsea’s reputed interest. “About the transfer market I prefer to talk to the club and give an opinion and I repeat I don’t want to give my opinion on that.”
City felt they had an agreement in place with Sanchez after a £60m move for the Chilean collapsed on transfer deadline day last August and were unhappy at how the goalposts subsequently shifted, with the player and his agent, Fernando Felicevich, asking for more money. City would still be prepared to sign Sanchez if he was prepared to accept the terms originally agreed last summer but United’s bid would have to run into trouble for there to be any chance of that happening.
United are thought to be prepared to meet Sanchez’s demands for a signing-on fee worth up to £20m and a £10m payment to Fernando Felicevich, the player’s agent.