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Manchester United are set to pay €42.5 million for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, according to multiple reports in Germany. Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke confirmed on Tuesday that United had "significantly improved their offer" and kicker, Ruhr Nachrichten and Bild all report that the Premier League side have nearly doubled their initial €24m (£19.9m) bid to €42.5m (£35.2m). The reports said Dortmund are set to accept the offer -- which would be the biggest transfer fee ever paid for a player entering the final year of his contract in Europe -- and the deal will be completed in the coming days. Kicker said that minor details in the contract are yet to be negotiated and Dortmund want the approval of all bodies of the club before accepting, while Mkhitaryan will have to pass a medical, but a deal appears imminent. Mkhitaryan, 27, joined Dortmund from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013 for a club record €27.5m fee, but the player's agent, Mino Raiola, said last week that United are his "dream club" and "he wants to join them by any means." The Armenia international, who registered 23 goals and 32 assists for BVB last term, would become United's second signing under Jose Mourinho after defender Eric Bailly. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is also expected to join on a free transfer while sources have told ESPN FC they are persisting with their efforts to re-sign France midfielder Paul Pogba from Juventus. Dortmund, meanwhile, have already sold Mats Hummels to Bayern Munich and Ilkay Gundogan to Manchester City, and would see their transfer income surpass €100m with the proposed Mkhitaryan deal. BVB, who finished as runners-up in the Bundesliga last season, have so far signed six players, including midfielder Sebastian Rode from Bayern and centre-back Marc Bartra from Barcelona. They have also been linked with Germany internationals Andre Schurrle, Karim Bellarabi and Mario Gotze as they assess potential replacements for Mkhitaryan.
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