Catalan daily Mundo Deportivo claim that Barcelona have informed Arsenal that they will now need to pay more for Alexis Sanchez, following his World Cup performance for Chile.
The Chilean winger was in superb form for his country at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, leading to more discussion about his future at Barcelona, which has been heavily debated in the last six months.
The former Udinese man had a good season with the Catalan club and was second only to Lionel Messi in terms of consistency and goalscoring accolades, but his future has been questioned after the appointment of Luis Enrique as coach.
Italian side Juventus have been keen on Alexis previously, whilst Barcelona’s interest in Liverpool’s Luis Suarez had seen the winger linked with a move to Anfield.
However, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has watched him during the World Cup and was reportedly first to put an offer on the table to Barcelona.
Some reports across media stated that the bid was around the £32m mark, but it is now being claimed that Barcelona will ask for a fee closer to that of £40m after he impressed for Chile at the World Cup.
That fee could be matched by the Gunners but Liverpool will also be interested in the price after Luis Suarez’s situation at Anfield continues to be discussed.