Everything is fluid and changes when one or more parties ask for them to be changed and the other party agrees to the change.
If Sanchez cannot get a better deal away from Arsenal at another club that Arsenal agree to hand him over to what is left for him?
So everything's still going well according to the "big plan" maybe.
City and Sanchez were fuming back in August and calling for revenge. They knew they have a huge advantage as they were after the same target.
They had some months time to develop a strategy for different scenarios to happen in the January window.
Target: get Arsenal to the point agreeing to quite a low transfer fee (for today's market). Using the last year of the contract.
Therefore we need a lot of transfer talk to get to a point of no return for Sanchez/Arsenal and the understanding Sanchez is of no use for Arsenal anymore.
While Arsenal having the last chance to cash in at least some quid.
A 20m take or leave offer certainly would attract some big players to make higher bids "just to try when you have the chance". It worked out.
Sanchez then had to ask for big money, terms would be agreed, Arsenal could hope for a bigger fee. But Sanchez would run down the clock and not sign.
At this point other difficulties could happen as such a deal is not easy to develop in such a short time and other players and agents involved.
That's the point where we are now.
IF there was a "big plan" and City and Sanchez 100% stuck to this plan since August,
we should be prepared to further run down the clock, boil Arsenal at low temperature, let other clubs leave the table as it simply doesn't get forward. When Arsenal have to fear they won't cash in at all, cannot sign new players, get a player back who is behind a point of no return,
than City could return to the table and finish the plan.
I thought City and Sanchez wanted each other as it makes sense to both.
Surely Sanchez would make sense for the rags, but not at all for Sanchez, IMO.
If it would turn out to be only about more money, the whole saga was so stupid and disappointing.
For that case I want my lifetime back!!