Manchester United have had a £19m bid rebuffed in their chase for Borussia Dortmund star Henrikh Mkhitaryan, per the Mirror.
The German side insists that they do not want to sell the midfielder, although he is reportedly seeking a move away from the club, which finished as runners-up to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga last term.
Mkhitaryan scored 18 goals and made 20 assists in all competitions for Dortmund over the season, attracting attention from United, as well as Chelsea and Arsenal. He has just one year left on his contract, and according to his agent Mino Raiola, the player favours a move to Old Trafford.
Dortmund, however, are refusing to budge, despite the player having refused to extend his contract.
"Manchester United is a unique opportunity. Micki wants to go there. Micki has for months maintained that he may leave the club this summer," said Raiola.
"Dortmund presented an official offer which was rejected, but now the BVB bosses fear their own fans.
"Suddenly, they tell Micki, that he should go next season on a free transfer. This is very bad management."?
New Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho has gone to work straightaway, completing the signing of defender Eric Bailly from Villarreal last week.
He is now seeking to add firepower to his attack by pursuing the Armenian in a cut-price deal, which is believed to be on an installment basis.
The Bundesliga side remain adamant and are keen on holding on to the rest of their big names as they have already lost Ilkay Gundogan to Manchester City, while Mats Hummels has signed for Bayern.
Apparently, they believe that they need Mkhitaryan more than money for the next campaign, even if it means losing him for free at the end of it.