Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed his interest in landing Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez.

Mourinho did not want to go into detail too much about the Chilean, but he admitted that when a player such as him becomes available – then you have to try.

Sanchez, who is out-of-contract at the end of the season, has made it clear to Arsenal that he does not want to sign a new deal and wishes to leave – with City his preferred destination.

Arsenal accepted a £60million bid from Man City in the summer, but the deal was called off when they could not find a replacement.

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City have been tracking Sanchez for 18-months, and he has made it clear he wants to link up with Pep Guardiola at The Etihad. Arsenal are ready to sell this month, but they will not go below £30million, whilst City won’t go over £20million.

The stand-off between City and Arsenal, has allowed United a glimmer of hope, as they could also send Henrikh Mkhitaryan to the Emirates as part of the deal – we revealed before Christmas Arsenal were keen on him.

“What we believe is there are some players in the football world where if you have a chance to sign them then you have to try”

Jose Mourinho on Alexis Sanchez

And now Mourinho has admitted he would be keen on a player like Sanchez, saying:  “What we believe is there are some players in the football world where if you have a chance to sign them then you have to try.

“All I can say is that Sanchez is a phenomenal player, apart from that, an Arsenal player, and I feel I shouldn’t say much more than this.”

Despite United’s interest Sanchez, sources have told us that City remain confident they will land the Chilean – due to the fact he has previously shunned the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris Saint Germain, insisting he wanted to move to the Etihad.

City are reluctant to pay, given Sanchez can move for free in the summer, but it remains to be seen if United interest will force their hand to up their interest.

Bookmakers have now changed their minds on the situation, as they are now making United favourites to land Sanchez this month.

Bookmaker Coral now make it 4-6 that Sanchez will sign for United with City out to 11/4.

“Manchester City seemed certainties to sign Sanchez but the revelation that they won’t meet Arsenal’s demands has sparked a huge turnaround in the odds. It’s now odds on that we see Sanchez at Old Trafford by the end of the window,” said Coral’s Harry Aitkenhead