Jose Mourinho has hailed Alexis Sanchez as a “phenomenal” player as Manchester United reportedly step up their interest in signing the Arsenal forward.
United have been strongly linked with signing Sanchez, 29, in the January window in the last 24 hours after he appeared to be on the verge of a transfer to their neighbours Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s side are said to be prepared to abandon their pursuit of Alexis Sanchez and allow the Chile international to move to Old Trafford this month because of the escalating costs of completing a deal.
The Premier League leaders value Sanchez at £20million because the player has just six months remaining on his Arsenal contract, and reports have said that City will not meet Arsenal’s £35million asking price or agent fees, which amount to £5million.
United manager Mourinho refused to deny his side were keen to land Sanchez and claimed the only word he could use to describe him is “phenomenal” when speak to the official Manchester United website, as quote by BBC Sport correspondent Simon Stone on his personal Twitter account.
Jose on Sanchez to @ManUtd “In relation to AS I don’t say a word, the only word I can say is he is a phenomenal player, apart from that Arsenal player and I feel I shouldn’t say much more than this.”
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) January 12, 2018
When asked about Sanchez on Friday, meanwhile, Guardiola refused to discuss the prospects of signing the forward.
“I am focused on Liverpool versus City,” Guardiola told reporters. “If I was my players I wouldn’t want my manager talking about other things.”
Sanchez, 29, will become a free agent in the summer when his contract at the London giants expires.
OPINION
Sanchez has cut a frustrated and isolated figure for Arsenal this season, with his performances a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly. His statistics are merely okay by his standards, 21 games have yielded eight goals and four assists, but even the Gunners fans who are happy for him to be sold this month accept that he is the team’s outstanding individual. Proven in the Premier League and with his ferocious hunger and work ethic still intact, the multi-dimensional attacker would be a brilliant signing for United. Mourinho is right in saying he is “phenomenal”. Sanchez can play anywhere across the front line and could slot in on the left flank at United, where Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford have shared duties this season. Neither has entirely convinced and Sanchez would certainly be an upgrade on the pair.