Pep Guardiola addresses Manchester City interest in Alexis Sanchez, rebuffs Pepe Reina links

Pep Guardiola has spoken out regarding Manchester City's rumoured interest in Arsenal talisman Alexis Sanchez and Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina, while advocating for the summer transfer window to close before the start of the season.

City have long been considered ahead of the likes of Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain as the main suitors for Gunners contract rebel Sanchez, who crucially revealed over the weekend that he wants to play in the Champions League again next season.

The Mail reports that Sanchez, who can leave on a free transfer next summer if he does not sign a new deal, wants to reunite with former Barcelona boss Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium in a switch that could be worth £50m ($65.1m).

However, Arsenal do not want to sell to a direct Premier League rival and Arsene Wenger recently reiterated that the decision to keep the Chilean had already been made.

"Alexis is a player for Arsenal, so if Arsene said it's because he knows more than me," Guardiola was quoted as saying by The Telegraph at a press conference held in Houston, where City face rivals Manchester United in an International Champions Cup clash at NRG Stadium on Thursday. "Unfortunately the market finishes on 31 August. I think it's a huge mistake from Uefa.

"It should finish when the season starts because it's too long, too large, and we are playing with guys here who are maybe not continuing and players who are not here so hopefully in the future Uefa can think about that and can put a deadline on the last day when we start the competition."

Guardiola is targeting the addition of three or four more players over the coming weeks having already splashed out on Bernardo Silva, Ederson, Kyle Walker and Douglas Luiz, with full-backs Danilo and Benjamin Mendy expected to join from Real Madrid and AS Monaco respectively.

However, the Catalan denied reports of a £2.5m bid for Napoli veteran Pepe Reina and insisted that City were not in the market for a new goalkeeper, amid suggestions that Claudio Bravo could yet be offloaded.

"No," he said. "We go with Ederson, Claudio and the young players."

Kelechi Iheanacho was omitted from City's tour squad as the wait for a £25m switch to Leicester City goes on due to a reported dispute with a former agent over image rights. Guardiola stated that the Nigerian had been an "honour to work with" during his time in Manchester and that his "behaviour was good", despite a reduction in first-team opportunities.

Fellow striker Wilfried Bony also stayed behind, although the manager suggested that was due to an unspecified injury rather than any imminent transfer.