Mkhitaryan set to force Man Utd move

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is so desperate to push through his move to Manchester United that he is willing to pay a chunk of his transfer fee himself, according to reports on Tuesday.

United are reported to have agreed a four-year deal with the player worth £65,000 a week , but remain locked in negotiations with his club Borussia Dortmund over his transfer fee.

The 27-year-old Armenia midfielder is in the final year of his contract with the Bundesliga club, but they’re continuing to play hardball over his fee and refuse to budge on their £26m valuation.

Manchester United are reportedly unwilling to spend such sums on a player, who in 12 months time will become a free agent, and remain hopeful of persuading Dortmund to accept a reduced fee.

But Dortmund have been keen to tie the player to a new long-term contract with chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke earlier this month claiming the club were desperate to keep him.

He told Bild: “We have been negotiating with Henrikh Mkhitaryan for four months for him to extend his contract with us.

“Now we know that it is not extended, it was never our commitment that Mkhitaryan may leave us prematurely.”

That has left United with the prospect of facing protracted negotiations over a deal for a player, who very much wants to sign for them, but battling a club who very definitely don’t want to sell him for a penny less than their valuation.

However, all parties could be satisfied if reports in the German press that the playmaker is willing to pay a section of his own fee are true, leaving Mkhitaryan free to complete his move to the club and play at Old Trafford under the new era of Jose Mourinho.