Gossip: Arsenal want Mkhitaryan; City no to Sanchez

ARSENAL ‘HAVE INTEREST’ IN MKHITARYAN
Arsenal were interested in Henrikh Mkhitaryan before he joined Manchester United in the summer of 2016 and they still ‘have an interest’ in the Armenian, according to The Guardian, so he could form part of any deal for Alexis Sanchez (who is expected to leave for Manchester this week).

But the man being sold as a replacement for Sanchez is still Bordeaux winger Malcom, with a meeting taking place on Sunday in France to discuss personal terms with the Brazilian. He notched his fifth Ligue Un assist of the season in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Troyes and will cost a cool £45m.

 

CITY PULL OUT OF SANCHEZ DEAL OVER AGENT DEMANDS
Manchester City pulled out of the deal to sign Alexis Sanchez ‘when asked by the Chilean’s agent to pay more money in wages and fees’, says Goal. Having dealt with agent Fernando Felicevich for almost a year and been assured that Sanchez was eager to play with Pep Guardiola again, they were hurt when asked to match Manchester United’s wage offer. According to this report: ‘City’s response was curt: we are no longer interested.’

According to journalist Sam Lee, who is well-connected at City, ‘Guardiola is happy to move on because he now believes the 29-year-old is not 100 per cent committed to playing for him’.

 

GAMEIRO TO SWANSEA?
‘Swansea City are making a record £25 million move for Atletico Madrid’s France striker Kevin Gameiro,’ say The Sun, and our first thought is that the Frenchman is probably not going to go for this. Having started and scored for Atletico Madrid (second in La Liga) on Saturday, it seems highly unlikely that he will join the Premier League’s bottom club.

Apparently, Gameiro ‘will be cleared to leave this week as the La Liga outfit balance the books’ after spending a small fortune on Diego Costa. Fenerbahce are also interested, so of course he will join Fenerbahce, and not just because ‘the Turks may be able to beat them by offering better wages’.

 

AND THE REST
Arsenal and Chelsea are both chasing Watford forward Richarlison as they prepare to launch an audacious summer swoop…Chelsea are still keen to sign a striker in January – with the loan signing of West Ham’s 29-year-old English striker Andy Carroll a possible option…Man  United are ready to hand 27-year-old Spain goalkeeper David de Gea a new contract that will keep him at the club for the rest of his career…Crystal Palace are hoping to complete a £15m deal to sign Fiorentina’s 24-year-old Senegal striker Khouma Babacar…Palace are also in talks to sign Ipswich’s Polish keeper Bartosz Bialkowski.