Chelsea aim to scupper Manchester United's Alexis Sanchez deal with late swoop?

Chelsea have reportedly made a late move for Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez, who has been heavily linked with a switch to Manchester United.

Initially, Manchester City were in the driving seat for the Chile international, who will be eligible to leave the Gunners for free at the end of the season if he is not sold this month.

There were widespread suggestions that Sanchez wanted to play under Pep Guardiola, but in the last few days there has been a big turnaround, with United now favourites to claim the attacker's signature.

According to the Manchester Evening News, City have dropped out of the race as they are not prepared to pay more than £20m for Sanchez, nor agree to a huge £400,000-a-week salary, which United are believed to be willing to offer.

The publication adds that Chelsea have now made their interest known, and as a result, the rumoured £35m fee is expected to rise as Arsenal consider potential deals.

United are also reportedly open to offering Henrikh Mkhitaryan in a player-plus-cash arrangement.