Monaco are reportedly set to test the resolve of Arsenal after making a £45m bid for Alexis Sanchez, offering the Gunners a chance to avoid losing him for nothing.
The 28-year-old has 12 months remaining on his current contract, and despite the fact that a renewal doesn’t even seem to be close, Arsene Wenger has remained adamant all summer that Sanchez will not be sold.
According to The Sun, Monaco are going to refuse to listen to that message and will make a £45m bid for the Chilean international in an attempt to test Arsenal’s resolve and try to persuade them to sell now.
Further, it’s added that they could offer a tax-free salary of around £300,000-a-week as another factor in trying to lure Sanchez to France, with the Ligue 1 champions seemingly looking to make a statement signing of their own after title rivals Paris Saint-Germain signed Neymar this week.
Leonardo Jardim has seen his title-winning side ripped apart this summer with Benjamin Mendy, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Bernardo Silva sold, while doubts remain over Kylian Mbappe and Thomas Lemar, with the latter linked with a move to Arsenal.
In turn, that could also be a window of opportunity for Monaco to discuss a deal for Sanchez, if it could smooth negotiations over Lemar’s move to north London.
Given how resolute Wenger has been this summer though, and as recently as Thursday when he reiterated Arsenal’s position on Sanchez, coupled with the player’s return to training this week, it seems highly unlikely that he’ll be going anywhere in the next three weeks or so.
As a result, it looks as though Monaco will have to be prepared for a serious transfer scrap next summer with several clubs expected to be keen on snapping up the Arsenal forward’s signature potentially on a free transfer.