Manchester United believe they have made a breakthrough in the pursuit of Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez, with the deal possibly completed as early as Monday, and the player now greatly leaning towards Old Trafford.

Manchester City have made it clear they will not meet the £35m asking price for the player or pay high agent fees of £10m, meaning the move to United is likelier to be completed even earlier than the “48-hour” period that Arsène Wenger admitted was possible on Sunday.

The Chilean had been left out of Arsenal’s squad for the 2-1 defeat away to Bournemouth, with the manager conceding after the game that it was because he was on “stand by”.

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It is understood that, even by then, United had become “considerable favourites” to purchase Sanchez. Aside from their willingness to pay all the asking prices and give the 29-year-old a deal of £400,000 a week, they upped the pressure and played on Sanchez’s desperation to leave Arsenal as early as possible, as well as the knowledge that City would not up their offer.

Pep Guardiola was even more reluctant to discuss the player on Sunday, after City’s 4-3 defeat at Liverpool, than he had been on Friday when the situation started to shift towards Old Trafford. The Catalan merely said Sanchez “is an Arsenal player” and would not discuss him.

Sources close to Guardiola have stated the fact that Gabriel Jesus is out injured for a shorter period than expected means there is less of a need to sign Sanchez, and strengthened the manager’s resolve not to be influenced into paying more.

The Catalan is also said to want players who are fully committed to his style of football, and that represents another reason for increased reticence. He was willing to walk away if it came down to money.

City have also been very against the idea of paying such high agents’ fees or breaking their wage plans. Giving Sanchez as much as £400,000 a week would distort their structure, given it involves a lower basic wage, but higher bonuses.