Borussia Dortmund have accepted a bid from Manchester United for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, with the midfielder set to become Jose Mourinho’s third signing.
Dortmund said they were agreeing to sell the 27-year-old Armenia international to the 20-time English champions as he had only one year remaining on his contract. Mkhitaryan has not yet agreed on personal terms, passed a medical examination or received a British work permit.
Dortmund paid 27.5 million euros (US$31 million) to Shakhtar Donetsk for Mkhitaryan in 2013. He had a promising first season with nine goals and nine assists in the Bundesliga, but a disappointing second season as Dortmund flirted with relegation.
Photo: AFP
Last season saw a renaissance under new coach Thomas Tuchel, with Mkhitaryan contributing 11 goals and setting up 20.
“United made us a very attractive offer,” Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said, without providing details. “Had we refused it, the player would have left us on a free transfer in 2017 and we would only have delayed the matter of a replacement for a year.”
Mkhitaryan is the third key player to leave Dortmund in the off-season after the team sold Mats Hummels to Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich and Ilkay Gundogan to Manchester City. The club will generate more than US$100 million by selling the trio.
If the transfer to United is completed, Mkhitaryan will follow striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and defender Eric Bailly into Old Trafford since Mourinho succeeded Louis van Gaal in May.
Meanwhile, Belgium international striker Michy Batshuayi, reportedly set for a 40 million euros switch from Olympique de Marseille to Chelsea, confirmed he was leaving the Ligue 1 outfit on Saturday.
Marseille had requested their 22-year-old top scorer from last season keep quiet on the move until details had been hammered out between the two clubs.
“It will be made official tomorrow, I will be leaving Olympique [de] Marseille this summer,” Batshuayi wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “Above all, I particularly want to thank all the supporters of OM. It’s a big honor for me to have worn this jersey at the Velodrome, a stadium which you have made magnificent with an atmosphere which is unique in France.”
A 6.5 million euros signing from Royal Standard de Liege in 2014, Batshuayi scored 17 goals in Ligue 1 last season and netted 23 times in all competitions. Marseille finished 13th in Ligue 1 last season.
Batshuayi spent his first season at Marseille as understudy to Andre-Pierre Gignac, before the France international left for Mexican side Tigres UANL at the end of the 2014-2015 campaign.
Although he signed a contract extension in January, tying him to the club until 2020, he had been expected to leave this summer.
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