Manchester City remain hopeful they will complete a cash-only deal with Arsenal for Alexis Sanchez before Thursday, and are not interested in a part-exchange involving either Raheem Sterling or Sergio Aguero.

Tuesday morning saw direct contact between the clubs regarding the Chilean after weeks of back-channel activity, although Arsenal’s stance remains that they will not sell - at least not unless a player comes the other way.

City however are not interested in that and have already said “no” to the idea of letting Sterling or Aguero leave, and believe they can put together the kind of cash offer that will ultimately persuade Arsenal to sell.

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Shape Created with Sketch. How could Manchester City line up this season? Show all 12 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. How could Manchester City line up this season? 1/12 How will City line up next season? Manchester City's summer spending has soared past £200million. But how will Pep Guardiola fit all of his new signings in? Getty 2/12 GK: Ederson Signed for a British record fee for a goalkeeper, the £34.9m 23-year-old will hope to provide an answer to City's problems between the posts. 3/12 RB: Kyle Walker Walker was high on City's list of transfer target and despite Daniel Levy's hard negotiating stance got a deal over the line for a fee of £50m Getty 4/12 CB: Vincent Kompany If he's fit City's skipper remains one of the finest centre backs in the league. But that has proven a big if in recent seasons. Getty 5/12 CB: John Stones Another whose place could be under threat if City get their way in the transfer market, given several costly errors in his debut campaign at the Etihad, but Guardiola appears to have a lot of time for the developing centre-half. 6/12 LB: Benjamin Mendy Impressive in Monaco's run to the Champions League semi-finals, Mendy looks to be an excellent upgrade on City's left-back options from last term. 7/12 CM: Yaya Toure One of the last remaining stalwarts of 'City 1.0', if you like. Guardiola is likely to use him in front of the back four, but will have to compete with Fernandinho and a fit-again Ilkay Gundogan. 8/12 RW: Alexis Sanchez With his Arsenal contract entering its final year and speculation of an Emirates exit only intensifying, it seems as though Sanchez will be on the move. City are keen, but can they convince their friends in north London to sell to a Premier League rival? 9/12 CM: Bernardo Silva A £43.6m acquisition from Monaco, Silva will add a dash of intelligence and guile to City's star-studded frontline. 10/12 CM: Kevin de Bruyne On his day, arguably the best player in the country. Tailed off after an excellent start to last season and cannot afford to do the same this time around given the number of options at Guardiola's disposal. 11/12 LW: Leroy Sané After a sheltered start to life at City, Sané excelled in the second half of the season. Perhaps City's most exciting young player, he has enough about him to stave off stiff competition for a place in Guardiola's attack. 12/12 ST: Gabriel Jesus Guardiola is a huge admirer of the young Brazilian, who made an immediate impact following his arrival in January. Likely to beat Sergio Aguero in the battle for the lone striker role. 1/12 How will City line up next season? Manchester City's summer spending has soared past £200million. But how will Pep Guardiola fit all of his new signings in? Getty 2/12 GK: Ederson Signed for a British record fee for a goalkeeper, the £34.9m 23-year-old will hope to provide an answer to City's problems between the posts. 3/12 RB: Kyle Walker Walker was high on City's list of transfer target and despite Daniel Levy's hard negotiating stance got a deal over the line for a fee of £50m Getty 4/12 CB: Vincent Kompany If he's fit City's skipper remains one of the finest centre backs in the league. But that has proven a big if in recent seasons. Getty 5/12 CB: John Stones Another whose place could be under threat if City get their way in the transfer market, given several costly errors in his debut campaign at the Etihad, but Guardiola appears to have a lot of time for the developing centre-half. 6/12 LB: Benjamin Mendy Impressive in Monaco's run to the Champions League semi-finals, Mendy looks to be an excellent upgrade on City's left-back options from last term. 7/12 CM: Yaya Toure One of the last remaining stalwarts of 'City 1.0', if you like. Guardiola is likely to use him in front of the back four, but will have to compete with Fernandinho and a fit-again Ilkay Gundogan. 8/12 RW: Alexis Sanchez With his Arsenal contract entering its final year and speculation of an Emirates exit only intensifying, it seems as though Sanchez will be on the move. City are keen, but can they convince their friends in north London to sell to a Premier League rival? 9/12 CM: Bernardo Silva A £43.6m acquisition from Monaco, Silva will add a dash of intelligence and guile to City's star-studded frontline. 10/12 CM: Kevin de Bruyne On his day, arguably the best player in the country. Tailed off after an excellent start to last season and cannot afford to do the same this time around given the number of options at Guardiola's disposal. 11/12 LW: Leroy Sané After a sheltered start to life at City, Sané excelled in the second half of the season. Perhaps City's most exciting young player, he has enough about him to stave off stiff competition for a place in Guardiola's attack. 12/12 ST: Gabriel Jesus Guardiola is a huge admirer of the young Brazilian, who made an immediate impact following his arrival in January. Likely to beat Sergio Aguero in the battle for the lone striker role.

The situation also remains skewed by the fact Sanchez is now said by sources close to him to be “desperate” to leave the Emirates in this window, marking a conspicuous shift from a recent acceptance that he might have to see out the last year of his contract there.

That urge to leave saw intermediaries get in contact with Manchester United to see if they were interested, and while Jose Mourinho would want the player, the 28-year-old’s first choice remains City due to his previous working relationship with Pep Guardiola at Barcelona.

Arsenal still don’t want to sell Sanchez, but might be more open if a player comes the other way.

The City hierarchy do not want to lose a club icon like Aguero, though, while Sterling is seen as an asset for the future.



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