Reports: Manchester City to battle Real Madrid for world-class forward
Guardiola has identified an alternative to Sanchez
What's the story?
Alexis Sanchez is not the only player Pep Guardiola has in mind. Goal reveal that the Spaniard is also targeting Kylian Mbappe should he fail to land Sanchez.
In case you didn't know...
Mbappe has been linked with a move away from Monaco ever since he took Europe by storm last season and has been linked with the likes of Real Madrid, Arsenal and PSG.
Manchester City were the first club to make their interest known in the Monaco wonderkid. Pep is a huge admirer of the teenager and has not been put off by the asking price for the player.
Monaco threatened to complain to FIFA a couple of days ago, for making an illegal approach for their star player. The French champions didn't name a club, but it is believed that they were talking about PSG and City.
The heart of the matter
Guardiola has been put off by Wenger's public statement that Sanchez is not for sale but will continue to monitor his situation. However, there is growing belief that City might lose him-just like they lost Dani Alves, who joined PSG.
According to Marca, Real Madrid are front-runners for Mbappe and have reached an agreement with Monaco for around £160m. It is also believed that Mbappe prefers a move to Real Madrid.
Madrid have recouped almost £100m from the sales of Morata to Chelsea and Danilo to City. And with James Rodriguez moving to Bayern Munich on loan, there is space for a new player as well.
What's next?
Both City and Madrid have been trying for months to land the Monaco forward. This has led to City shipping out more players to create funds, the latest departures being that of Kelechi Iheanacho, who close to joining Leicester City for £20m and Nolito to Sevilla for £8m.
City believe that they have a good relationship with the French champions as they have spent £95m on Monaco players - Benjamin Mendy and Bernardo Silva.
And they believe this relationship might act in their favour.
Author's take
Mbappe had a fantastic season last year, scoring 26 goals in all competitions. There is no denying that the 18-year old is short of any talent.
However, a move away from Monaco might ruin his career. He should not be thinking of money at this point. Instead, he should focus on improving and should stay at Monaco at least for one more season.