Why Chelsea have entered the race for Alexis Sanchez

Manchester United are prepared to indulge the demands from the north London outfit as well as those of the player's agent, which puts them in pole position to sign Alexis Sanchez in January.

After a meeting between Pep Guardiola and the Manchester City hierarchy, the Citizens decided to withdraw their interest in the Chilean, who had been a long-term target for the Premier League leaders until the financial requirements became excessive.

Jose Mourinho appeared confident in his team's chances of landing Sanchez, but Chelsea cannot be ruled out after they also enquired about his terms.

Antonio Conte rates the forward highly and Chelsea's history of flying under the radar when it comes to signing players makes them a tough competitor in the transfer market. 

The Blues are scouring the market for a striker to take the workload off Alvaro Morata, who is beginning to feel the physical strain of his first season in the Premier League. Michy Batshuayi is set to leave Stamford Bridge and Andy Carroll has emerged as a potential candidate, but they cannot agree a fee with West Ham.

At 29 years of age, Alexis Sanchez is widely seen as a bargain despite his contract running out in a few months. While United still appear to be firm favourites, prepared to pay a hefty signing on fee, a salary of around £400,000-a-week and agent fees to his representative, Fernando Felicevich, Chelsea's options are very much real.

Antonio Conte already tried to sign the Chilean from Udinese during his time at Juventus and he suggested last week that signing Sanchez would be "a good investment", claiming "maybe a normal price for Alexis Sanchez is £80m-£90m."

The race for Alexis Sanchez is on and Manchester United would be mistaken to think that it is a one-horse race. The financial strength of the Premier League superpowers is about to be tested as Alexis Sanchez looks to complete his long-awaited departure in January.