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The agent of Henrikh Mkhitaryan has claimed Manchester United’s prospects of signing Alexis Sanchez will hinge on whether the Armenia playmaker decides to join Arsenal, The Telegraph reported.

The source reminds that United are thought to be prepared to meet Sanchez’s demands for a signing on fee worth up to £20 million and a £10 million payment to Felicevich but the deal hinges on Mkhitaryan, according to the Armenian’s representative, Mino Raiola.

Arsenal want £35 million for Sanchez but United have instead offered Mkhitaryan – who is valued at a similar fee – to the north London club and Raiola claims Sanchez will not move to Old Trafford unless his client agrees to a switch to the Emirates Stadium. Mkhitaryan, who is contracted to United until June 2020, has also been on Inter Milan’s radar although the Italian club have favoured a loan that is of no interest to United.

“Manchester United are not going to sign Sánchez unless Mkhi agrees to join Arsenal,” said Raiola, who also represents Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sergio Romero at United. “Mkhi is going to do what is best for him. He has two-and-a-half years left on his contract, so it’s his decision.”

Raiola also scoffed at the idea of Mkhitaryan being a makeweight in a deal for Sanchez. “Sánchez is part of the Mkhi deal, not the other way around,” he said, as quoted by the paper.