Jose Mourinho Confirms Manchester United 'Have a Chance' to Sign Alexis Sanchez

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed the club "have a chance" of signing Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal this month but does not know if they will be able to. 

Per Adam Bostock, Matt Bullin and Adam Bath of United's official website, Mourinho spoke to Sky Sports and in his post-match press conference after beating Stoke City 3-0 on Monday:

"I am not confident, but also not unconfident. Just relaxed, and we have the feeling that he is an Arsenal player. We have the feeling that he can stay there. But also the feeling that he can move and if he moves, I think we have a chance. But, I think most probably, a player like him has other big clubs interested. Who knows? I think him, Mr. [Arsene] Wenger and Mr. [Ivan] Gazidis, I think they know really what is going to happen. I have no idea to be honest."

Sanchez was expected to join Manchester City and reunite with former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola, but United's 11th-hour interest has thrown a spanner in the works.

The Sky Blues have now ended their pursuit of signing the Chile international, per James Robson of the Manchester Evening News:

With regards to Chelsea's reported interest, Samuel Luckhurst of the same outlet believes it's unlikely to hamper United's attempts to sign him:

City are 12 points ahead of the Red Devils in the Premier League, and despite losing for the first time on Sunday, it seems unlikely they can be caught this season.

However, there's evidently a gulf in class between City and United, one that Sanchez could widen or help reduce depending on which team he joins.

Football writer Liam Canning believes the forward would be a good fit at Old Trafford:

Widespread reports, such as James Whaling's from the Mirror, have claimed United could use Henrikh Mkhitaryan in a bid to help secure a deal with Arsenal for Sanchez.

However, David Ornstein of the BBC has claimed no deal is in place and that the Armenian is not desperate to leave Old Trafford.

Sanchez choosing United over City would make next season a more interesting contest, particularly if he can recapture the form that saw him score 30 goals for Arsenal last year.

If City are giving United a clear run at him this month, they need to capitalise.