Earlier on in the January transfer window, it seemed as if it would be a quiet transfer window for Manchester United.

However, the drama surrounding the future of Alexis Sanchez means it has been the very opposite.

The Chilean was expected to leave Arsenal for Manchester City, but Pep Guardiola eventually decided against the deal.

Taking advantage of City's failure to secure the deal, Jose Mourinho moved swiftly for Arsenal's star man, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan likely to go the opposite way.

And earlier on Thursday Arsene Wenger confirmed that the deal that would take Sanchez to Old Trafford could take place before the weekend.

"As you said - you’re well informed - it’s now in the next 24 to 48 hours that it will happen or not," Wenger said on the potential transfer.

UNITED PLAN TO STEAL ANOTHER CITY TARGET

And it has been reported that Man United plan to steal another target from under the noses of their City rivals.

According to Ed Aarons from the Guardian, Manchester City have been speaking to Nice midfielder Jean Seri, having held meetings with his agent this week over a potential summer transfer.

However, Aarons reveals that they will have competition from United, who plan to hijack the deal - although whether they attempt to move for him in January or until the summer is not specified.

This will come as unwelcome news for Guardiola, who will undoubtedly be annoyed that he was not able to secure the signature of long term target, Alexis Sanchez - of which United profited from.

WHO IS SERI?

Seri may not be a name too familiar to football fans, but he has been making headlines in France in the past few years.

A box-to-box midfielder, the 26-year-old rose to prominence last year after an impressive campaign at Nice.

The Ivorian contributed seven goals in 34 league games for his club, with his performances earning him a spot in the 2017 Ligue 1 team of the year.

Barcelona were heavily linked with him last summer, but eventually pulled out of a deal which left Seri "very sad."

Telling El Mundo Deportivo, as per the Daily Mail, Seri said in August: "I'm not going to lie - I feel awful, I did not play for Nice this weekend because football should be about joy and I did not feel this.

"My dream of joining Barcelona has been broken and this is terrible for me.

"From what I understand, the deal did not go through because of financial reasons and that makes me very sad."

Whether Barcelona reignite their interest following rumours of a switch to Manchester remains to be seen.