Chelsea reportedly made a move to sign Alexis Sanchez back in January, prior to the Chilean joining Manchester United.
Sanchez appeared set to join Manchester City last summer, with Arsenal lining up AS Monaco’s Thomas Lemar as a replacement.
However, the Gunners felt there was not sufficient time to get the deal for the Frenchman over the line and subsequently pulled the plug on Sanchez’s move to the Etihad.
As January approached, speculation surrounding Sanchez’s future emerged once again. He had just six-months to run on his deal with the North London side, who had lost virtually all of their bargaining power.
They still managed to get Henrikh Mkhitaryan in exchange, with United determined to win the race to sign the 29-year-old.
The Red Devils did not complete the deal without competition from Chelsea, however.
According to the Manchester Evening Standard, we attempted to make an eleventh-hour move to sign Sanchez, but United’s financial firepower proved too great. In hindsight, it was probably for the best.