PSG plan to snatch Alexis Sanchez on a free next summer — but will not pay for him in January.
The French giants want the Arsenal striker to replace Edinson Cavani next season.
And they are convinced Sanchez’s friendship with former Barcelona team-mate Neymar will help to seal the deal.
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Sanchez, 28, is in the final year of his Gunners deal and has made it clear he will not be signing a new one.
Boss Arsene Wenger was ready to sell him to Manchester City for £60million on transfer deadline day.
But he changed his mind when he was unable to get Raheem Sterling as part of the deal.
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City are ready to try again in January but will only offer £20million and Arsenal would prefer not to sell to a direct Premier League rival.
But PSG, who are struggling to stay within Uefa’s financial fair play rules having signed Neymar for a world record £198m, are not prepared to pay for a player who will become a free agent next summer.
Coach Unai Emery’s hopes of adding Sanchez to his ranks went on the back burner when PSG took Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe on loan with a guaranteed £162m transfer fee next year.
Now PSG believe they can get around their FFP problem by selling Cavani, who has had a bitter clash with Neymar, and bringing in Sanchez for nothing.
Wenger has decided Sanchez should see out the rest of his contract at Arsenal and will not countenance selling him in January if his team are in the title race.
But with Mesut Ozil also running down his contract, some on the Arsenal board are unhappy at the prospect of losing two of the club’s biggest signings for nothing.
