Good Lord!
We know that Manchester City wanted Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez, but we didn't know they wanted him quite so much. The breaking news on Tuesday morning is that the Blues are prepared to offer first-team starter and England ace Raheem Sterling in part-exchange for the rapid Chilean.
The
Mirror's John Cross - who has excellent contacts at the Emirates - has broken the news which comes as a bit of a shock even by the standards of the summer silly season.
https://twitter.com/johncrossmirror/status/902439051344707585
It was only two years ago that Sterling joined City from Liverpool for an initial £44m, rising to just under £50m with add-ons. Of course Pep Guardiola has an envious array of attacking options at his disposal, but the 22-year-old has remained a starter for the Catalan, and indeed has saved his club more than a few points this season with dramatic late goals.
A cash plus player deal may be one of those rare instances when a transfer suits all parties. City get their number one transfer target, and Arsenal fans, who were resigned to losing Sanchez anyway, get a stellar talent in return.
