Pep Guardiola suffers major disappointment, Man City pull out of £20m race

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With his side looking irresistible at times this season, Pep Guardiola would have hoped Man City could attract more top players to the Etihad.

Ahead of his contract at Arsenal expiring this summer, Alexis Sanchez has reportedly been a long-time target for the Premier League leaders, who eyed a swoop in January to bolster their squad and to march on in their pursuit of major honours this season.

However, according to The Sun, City have now removed themselves from the race to sign the 29-year-old, which will be a huge disappointment for Guardiola having worked with the Chilean international previously at Barcelona.

That in turn would have given him a perfect insight into what he could offer his City side, as with the injury to Gabriel Jesus in mind, they could certainly do with a reinforcement up front this month.

Nevertheless, it won’t be Sanchez it seems, as it’s claimed that although Man City didn’t lodge an official bid for him, they set their stalls out at £20m, significantly less than the £35m that Man Utd are reportedly willing to spend, while paying £5m to Sanchez’s agent was never an option, as per The Sun.

In truth, it’s a commendable and smart decision in many ways, as whoever lands the former Barca and Udinese star’s signature is going to splash out when signing-on fees and wages are included and that perhaps makes it less of a sensible swoop.

City may live to regret a decision not to look at alternatives though, as while Guardiola still has Sergio Aguero to lead his line until Jesus returns, the Argentine club hero doesn’t always look compatible with the way in which City play and that could lead to issues further down the line in their pursuit of multiple trophies.

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