By Peter Westwood
Manchester United are close to securing the signing of Henrikh Mkhitaryan for a reported £32.5m fee.
Attacking midfielder Mkhityaryan, 27, would become Jose Mourinho’s second signing at Manchester United after Eric Baily was signed from Valencia for a £30m fee.
It was reported that there was an initial offer of £28m but that this was rebuffed by Dortmund late last week, United have stepped up by making another bid which was described by BVB chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke as ‘significantly improved’.
Mkhitaryan has been a prolific player for Borussia Dortmund since he signed for the club from Shakhtar Donesk in 2013, making 129 appearances for Dortmund and scoring 33 goals in a time which saw him pick up the baton when star player Mario Gotze left to join Bayern Munich.
It is likely that this signing will cast doubts over the futures of certain players at United, namely Ashley Young and Memphis Depay, who are likely to be cast aside by Mourinho, after being unsuccessful under both previous managers David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, respectively.
Mkhitaryan, is also likely to be joining the club along with Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who, after recently retiring from the national team, is without a club after leaving PSG at the end of the season and is rumoured to be close to reuniting with his former Inter Milan manager.
