David Ornstein: Manchester City’s pursuit of Alexis Sanchez is over

The saga has ended, perhaps not in the manner either Manchester City or Arsenal wanted it, with an unhappy Alexis Sanchez seeing his move to the Etihad fall through.

After an earlier report that the deal was dead, more sources have backed it up, most notably Arsenal fan favourite David Ornstein, who says that despite the two clubs having a conditional agreement of £55million plus £5million in add-ons, the deal is dead. Arsenal didn’t feel they had time to get a replacement in.

City have no plans to improve their cash bid or even offer a player, and the deal now appears closed. Alexis is a free agent next summer and could possibly reunite with Pep Guardiola a year later than he had hoped.

As others report #MCFC Sanchez bid over. Conditional agreement reached £55m+£5m but #AFC needed replacement. Lemar said no so Sanchez stays

— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) August 31, 2017

Man City have no plans to resurrect Sanchez move by offering player in exchange or more money for straight cash deal #MCFC #AFC #DeadlineDay

— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) August 31, 2017