Manchester City have told Arsenal they will bid £53m for Alexis Sanchez.

• Alexis is wanted by Manchester City and Bayern Munich
• City are confident they can sign him
• Arsenal don’t want to sell to them

That’s according to Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri, who said City have contacted Arsenal to tell them they will be bidding, instead of just actually bidding, reports the Daily Mail.

Palmeri isn’t one the most reliable journalists around, having famously claimed Robin van Persie would return to Arsenal in 2014 because he was unhappy at Manchester United.

It’s a safe bet that City will bid for Alexis, given their interest in him and their conviction that he wants to join them. But Arsenal’s stance that they won’t sell to a rival has been firm and no amount of reports communicating City’s confidence are going to change that.

With Alexis away with Chile at the Confederations Cup, we’re unlikely to see an end to this saga any time soon.