Borussia Dortmund have given Manchester United the biggest indication yet that they may well be preparing for life without midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The midfielder wants to join Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford this summer, and the German side have just had a €36million bid for Bayer Leverkusen forward Karim Bellarabi rejected.
Mkhitaryan is out of contract next year, and it has been no secret that United are wanting to sign the player, and Dortmund have already turned down a bid of around £25million from the Reds.
Midfielder wants to go to United
The player's agent, Mino Raiola, is said to have overturned a chair during negotiations with Dortmund, and he said that his client is “not the type to have conflicts” because that is left to him.
He said: “(Hans-Joachim) Watzke walks 180 degrees into one direction and I 180 degrees into the other. But eve though it does not look like it right now, I still hope for a sensible solution.”
Raola believes an offer to join United might only come “once in a lifetime” for a player, and nobody can “guarantee us” that the opportunity will still be around next season.
It is Mkhitaryan’s dream to go to Old Trafford, according to his agent, and he wants to join the club “by any means”.
Dortmund targeting Mkhitaryan replacement
The Bundesliga side have their focus set on Germany international Bellarabi, however Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller said that Dortmund had not met their valuation of the player.
“There was an official request from Dortmund a few days ago, but it was instantly rejected,” he said to Bild.
Bellarabi is not currently in France playing for his country at Euro 2016, as Joachim Low didn’t include him in his final 23-man squad for the tournament.
However, the intention to sign the forward from Dortmund may well mean that they are willing to let Mkhitaryan come to the Premier League.