Manchester City could bid £20m for Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez in January, according to latest reports.

Alexis was close to completing a move to City in a £60m on deadline day, but Arsenal stopped the deal at the last moment after failing to secure a replacement. Now according to The Sun, City will return in January for the 28-year-old, only this time they’ll only bid £20m for him – a third of what they were willing to pay in August.

They report that City do not want to be held to ransom for a player with just six months remaining on his contract. That’s all well and good for them, but Arsenal aren’t going to sell for just £20m. At least, we hope they wouldn’t.

The Gunners decided to keep Alexis after failing to sign Monaco’s Thomas Lemar on deadline day. They reasoned that receiving £60m would be pointless if they couldn’t spend that on a replacement right away.

There’s little doubt that the saga will reignite when the transfer window reopens in January. Arsenal will then have to decide if they want to get some money for Alexis or if they’re really willing to let him walk away for free in the summer. This will likely be dependent on Arsenal’s ability to sign a replacement in January.