Arsenal want to sign Boca’s Cristian Pavon immediately, to replace Alexis Sanchez, rather than waiting for the summer as originally planned, according to reports in Argentina.

TyC Sports write that the Gunners are willing to pay Pavon’s £27.4m release clause, to bring the winger to England. They could make a bid in the next few hours. Arsenal are fast-tracking the deal because Alexis Sanchez is edging closer to a move to Manchester City.

Plus, Wenger is aware that the Argentine’s price tag could grow even larger if he goes to the World Cup. The 21-year-old made his debut for the South American side in November, and provided an assist on his first start against Nigeria.

Despite his age, Pavon is already a regular in the Boca Juniors first-team. This season, he scored three goals and provided six assists before the winter break, so you can see why Arsenal might want to buy the youngster.

But this story does sound like it hinges on Alexis moving to City in the immediate future. On Tuesday morning, Arsene Wenger denied receiving any contact from the Sky Blues in the current window.

So if that’s true, half of the justification to fast-track the Pavon deal disappears. We’ll have to wait and see how much truth there is to the rumour.