Arsenal Told to Pay £32m to Outbid Liverpool and United for Sanchez

Barcelona have raised Alexis Sanchez's price tag to €40m (£32m) amid the increasing number of big European sides interested in securing his services, reports in Spain claim.

The Catalans are trying to take advantage of his excellent performances at the World Cup to secure a sweeter deal in order to fund moves for new acquisitions.

La Liga giants are embarking on a huge overhaul to avoid another trophyless season and they have earmarked the signing of Liverpool star Luis Suarez as their top priority for the summer.

And with Lionel Messi and Neymar completing their attacking trio, Sanchez's chances to secure regular appearances at the Camp Nou look so uncertain that the club have been opened to negotiate his exit since the beginning of the transfer market – even though he is likely to stay at Barcelona and fight for a place in the line-up.

Before the Brazil tournament reports in Italy claimed Juventus were leading the race to secure his services with Barcelona demanding around £25m for his services.

But after Sanchez became one of the toasts of the World Cup spearheading Chile's campaign with three goals, Marca said the Catalans were not ready to give him away that cheaply as they will want a big sale to fund Suarez's purchase.

Indeed, according to Marca they have since hiked his price tag to €40m – with Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid and Juventus monitoring the situation.

Firstly, Barcelona's intentions was to include him as a make-weight in the Suarez deal to secure a cut-price for the Uruguay international, but with Sanchez reportedly unlikely to move to Liverpool they have been looking at other alternatives.

Louis van Gaal is also keen on bringing him to Old Trafford but recent reports said Arsenal were now in pole position to secure his signature.

Arsene Wenger is desperately looking for a forward to shore up Olivier Giroud and reports in Spain said he is set to launch a first £25m bid to secure his services.