Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho 'relaxed' about Alexis Sanchez transfer battle
Henrikh Mkhitaryan could leave as part of a deal bringing Arsenal's Sanchez to Old Trafford
Jose Mourinho has claimed he is “relaxed” about the prospect of signing Alexis Sanchez with Manchester United now considered front-runners in the race to sign the Arsenal forward.
Manchester City decided to bring their pursuit of Sanchez to an end on Monday night, deeming Arsenal’s asking price and the player’s salary demands too expensive.
Though Chelsea are also believed to be interested in staging a late bid for Sanchez, whose contract at Arsenal expires in the summer, United are now clear favourites to secure the 29-year-old’s signature.
Manchester United's January transfer targets
Show all 7Speaking after United’s 3-0 victory over Stoke City, Mourinho remained coy on any prospective deal and claimed not to have been involved in negotiations during the day.
“Not confident but also not, what is the opposite? Unconfident. Just relaxed,” Mourinho said, when asked whether he was hopeful of Sanchez arriving at Old Trafford.
“We have a feeling he is an Arsenal player, he can stay there, but also a feeling he can move and if he moves I think we have a chance but most probably a player like him has other big clubs interested and who knows?”
Mourinho added: “I think him, Mr Wenger, Mr Gazidis, they are the ones who know what is going to happen.
“I don’t know anything about it and I don’t have one single information, so let’s see what happens.”
United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan could join Arsenal as part of the deal for Sanchez, though it is understood that the Armenian is yet to be persuaded of a move to the Emirates.
Mkhitaryan was left out of United’s matchday squad for Monday’s win over Stoke, with Mourinho admitting the omission was due to speculation over the midfielder’s future.
“I didn’t select him today because I wanted players fully focused and I understand that with so much talk and speculation, it’s not easy for Mkhitaryan to play,” the United manager said.
“I prefer to protect him and the situation. If he stays here he is a very good player that this season started very very well and came a little bit down but last season did amazing things for us, helped us to win the Europa League, being one of the most important players.
“Let’s see what is going to happen. It is a pity the market closes on January 31, the market should close maybe tomorrow and finish with everything.”
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