Manchester City only want Alexis Sanchez in a cash-only deal, according to reports, but Arsenal have been keen to negotiate a player into the deal.

It was reported this morning that City had offered Arsenal Raheem Sterling plus cash in an effort to sign Alexis. However, according to The Independent, City want to do the deal with cash only and have said “no” to any deal involving one of their players. BBC Sport have reported that City are ‘desperate’ to get the deal done before deadline day.

They suggest that it was actually Arsenal who approached City about a cash plus player deal, and that the Gunners initially asked for Sergio Aguero before asking about Sterling. Arsenal’s stance remains that they will not sell Alexis to a rival for straight-up cash, and would at least want a player in return.

This the first time that the two clubs have made direct contact over Alexis after weeks and weeks of back-and-forth in the papers. The defeat to Liverpool last Sunday and the impending transfer deadline has sparked some life into a saga that was stalling for some time.

With the two clubs now talking with each other, there could well be further developments to come.