Manchester United: Mourinho ready to continue transfer spree with double capture of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ibrahimovic

Manchester United are close to completing a double deal for Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as Jose Mourinho steps up his recruitment drive ahead of his first season at Old Trafford. The duo are said to be close to agreeing personal terms with the club after the Red Devils stepped up their pursuit in recent days.

The Sweden international's transfer is more straight forward owing to his lack of attachment to any club following the expiry of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain, but the Borussia Dortmund midfielder's transfer is a bit more complicated as the Bundesliga club is reluctant to let another of their key players depart the club in a summer that has already seen Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan secure moves to Bayern Munich and Manchester City respectively.

According to the Guardian, the 20-time English champions are confident of getting the move for Mkhitaryan over the line after increasing their offer. It is believed that United are willing to match the German club's valuation after their initial bid of around £19m ($25.5m) was rejected. The midfielder is also keen to make the switch to the Premier League after rejecting an improved deal to remain at the Signal Iduna Park.

Arsenal were also interested in signing the Armenia international, who had a stellar campaign — scoring 23 goals and providing 32 assists in all competitions — with Dortmund last season. However, his agent Mino Raiola made it clear that United is his client's dream destination and as of 26 June Sky Sports understands that they have agreed a deal worth £26.3m with the midfielder said to have agreed personal terms following discussions between the club and his representatives.

Mkhitaryan's capture will be Mourinho's second of the summer following the arrival of Eric Bailly from Villarreal. Ibrahimovic meanwhile, is also high on the manager's list and is said to have agreed to accept United's offer of a one-year contract worth £220,000 a week. The Swedish forward is also managed by Raiola, while his third client Paul Pogba too is on the Portuguese manager's wanted list with the Sun reporting that United are willing to break the world record transfer fee Real Madrid paid for Gareth Bale to land the French midfielder.