Now that the Philippe Coutinho saga has finally come to a close and the Brazilian finds himself in Barcelona, it seems as though Alexis Sanchez is ready to step in and replace his headlines.

The 29-year-old is coming to the end of his contract at the Emirates Stadium and Arsenal are bracing themselves to see their main attraction leave for nothing in the summer.

However, if they can strike a deal in January, they may be able to reinvest in Brazilian wonderkid Malcom.

The problem is, should they choose to go that route, they are likely to strengthen one of their rivals in the process.

It's been common knowledge for a while now that the Chilean superstar has had his heart set on a reunion with former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and if Sanchez waits until the summer, it's almost certain he'll get his wish.

However, after Gabriel Jesus suffered a serious knee injury, it was speculated that the Cityzens would push forward their efforts to January, but Arsenal made their position clear.

The Gunners are willing to sell Sanchez for £30 million in January, but City are only willing to pay £20 million and know they can have him for nothing in the summer.

However, with new interest from Manchester United and now Liverpool, things are about to change.

United are reportedly ready to offer Henrikh Mkhitaryan plus cash to bring Sanchez to Old Trafford and the immediate replacement might intrigue Arsenal.

Liverpool's plan

However, Liverpool have a plan of their own to steal Sanchez to Anfield as a replacement for Coutinho.

According to The Mirror, the Reds are ready to pay the £35 million and smash their wage structure to make sure they land their man.

That means paying Sanchez around £300k-a-week, but the club's owners, Fenway Sports Group, accept the need to pay big money if they are to finally win a Premier League title, and that they feel they would have a chance of netting Sanchez ahead of the Manchester clubs.

If Liverpool are aggressive enough and can persuade Sanchez - something Brendan Rodgers failed to do before Alexis went to Arsenal - it would be a major coup for the club.