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Alexis Sanchez has been given permission to leave the Chile training camp ahead of the Copa America in order to finalise a deal with Spanish champions Barcelona. The Udinese winger is close to joining the European champions but needs to travel to Spain order to finalise the deal. Sanchez has also been in talks with Manchester United and Manchester City but it seems that the lure of the Nou Camp has won him over.

The deal is far from being confirmed however with Udinese demanding a figure of £44 million and Barcelona only willing to pay £25 million plus various add-on instalments. The Udinese owner Gianpaolo Pozzo told Gazzetta dello Sport, ‘Sanchez is still a Udinese player. Barcelona have made more than one offer. The real market value of Sanchez is minimum £44 million but seeing as we are not Inter Milan or Real Madrid but a small club, in the end, we may have to settle for less’. He is under contract until June 2014 which gives the Italian club an advantage in negotiating a large figure for the Chile international who scored 12 goals last season firing them to the Champions League.

Chile boss Claudio Borghi has also stated that Chile had no option but to let the 22-year-old travel to Barcelona or risk being held liable for the cost of the transfer if Sanchez suffers a serious injury during the Copa America. They are currently preparing for the tournament which begins on the 1 July and the deal must be tied up before the tournament gets under way. The possible addition of Sanchez may be seen as real blow for Cesc Fabregas as it will become increasingly unlikely the club will make a move for the Arsenal midfielder if they have already secured a big signing this summer. Sanchez will join a forward line that already boasts the likes of Lionel Messi, Pedro and David Villa as they attempt to retain La Liga and the Champions League next season. The latest news can be found at www.fcbarcelona.com.

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