Manchester United boosted as Borussia Dortmund identify Wolfsburg's Andre Schurrle as Henrikh Mkhitaryan replacement

Manchester United have been handed a massive boost in their ongoing pursuit of Henrikh Mkhitaryan as Borussia Dortmund are willing to allow their star player leave this summer. The Bundesliga outfit have identified Wolfsburg attacker Andre Schurrle as a replacement for the Armenian international at the Signal Iduna Park.

Mkhitaryan is strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford and his agent Mino Raiola has confirmed his client is keen on joining the 20-time English champions. According to German newspaper Bild, Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel wants to bolster their squad for the 2016/17 season and believes the former Chelsea man would be the right fit.

Schurrle came up through the ranks of Mainz 05's youth system and when Tuchel took charge at Mainz in 2009, he promoted the attacker to their first team who impressed in his debut season. In his second season, the German international scored 15 goals and that saw him seal a move to Bayer Leverkusen in 2011.

The Dortmund boss has already held talks with Schurrle in order to convince him to join his side. Tuchel is hoping to reunite with his former player at his present club. The ex-Chelsea attacker admitted that he would assess his future after the Euro 2016 in France, where he is with the German national team.

"I think that it's too early right now. I will now prepare for the Euros. I will try to play a very good tournament with Germany and give it my all," Schurrle explained, as quoted by ESPN.

"We'll see about the rest after that, but it should not sound like I am already in the starting blocks here. There is nothing right now."

With Dortmund targeting Schurrle as a potential replacement for Mkhitaryan, it will be a boost for the latter as he is pushing for a move to Old Trafford. The Dortmund midfielder has one year left on his contract and another report from Bild claims the German outfit have informed United to pay €40m (£32.5m, $44.4m) to part ways with their player.

The Sun reports that United are closing in on completing a deal for Mkhitaryan. The Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho remains confident that the Dortmund star will be playing in the Premier League in the 2016/17 season.

Dortmund have already lost Ilkay Gundogan to Manchester City, while their star defender has returned to Bayern Munich this summer. Despite their hope of retaining Mkhitaryan, they are resigned to lose their star midfielder.