Manchester United agree terms with Alvaro Morata but still short of Real Madrid valuation

Manchester United have reached an agreement with Alvaro Morata over a move to Old Trafford this summer, but are yet to agree a transfer fee with Real Madrid.

The Spanish striker is expected to become the Red Devils' second summer acquisition after they confirmed the arrival of Victor Lindelof on Wednesday (14 June). Juanma Lopez has confirmed United's approach with a 'very important' offer for Morata.

According to Spanish Radio station Cadena COPE, the Red Devils have agreed personal terms with Morata, who is keen to move to the Premier League, but are unable to agree a fee with the Spanish capital club. It is claimed that the forward's agent met officials at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday and has been informed that they are expecting a fee in excess of the €70m (£61.6m) they had initially expected.

The increase in price for the striker is said to have come about after they viewed the market valuation for Gonzalo Higuain and Kylian Mbappe. The former joined Juventus from Napoli last summer in a deal worth €90m, while the latter is valued at around €120m by his current employers AS Monaco.

Morata is ready to leave the 12-time Champions League winners despite only rejoining them in 2015 following a two-year spell in Juventus. He has struggled for regular game time under Zinedine Zidane making just 14 starts in the league last season. Despite his limited game time, he scored 15 goals and this has made him Jose Mourinho's priority forward target this summer.

The Portuguese manager addressed his defensive concerns by signing Lindelof from Benfica and has now made signing a forward his top priority. United managed just 54 goals in 38 Premier League games last season, which puts them eighth on the goal scoring table even behind Bournemouth.

Marcus Rashford and the fading Wayne Rooney are the manager's only genuine options in the number nine position at the moment after the club released last season's top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic as he was sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury. United have also been linked with a move for Torino forward Andrea Belotti, but his £87m release clause has put off interested suitors.