Borussia Dortmund chief looking to block Henrikh Mkhitaryan's move to Manchester United
Top clubs across Europe will be active in the transfer window despite the two ongoing international tournaments, the Euro 2016 and the 2016 Copa America Centenario, taking place simultaneously in France and the United States respectively.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the Armenian international is one of the star players for the Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund as he scored 19 goals and created 24 more opportunities for his teammates in all competitions played in the last season.
Mkhitaryan's form has seen him attract interest from the Premier League as both Arsenal and Manchester United are believed to be interested in securing his services. The 27-year-old's contract at Signal Iduna Park will run down at the end of the 2016/17 season and should he decide against signing a new deal, he will leave Dortmund as a free agent a year later if they do not cash in on his sale this summer.
The midfielder's agent Mino Raiola confirmed the player is keen on joining Jose Mourinho at United. Mkhitaryan is aware that playing for the Red Devils is a unique opportunity and is not willing to turn it down.
"Manchester United is a unique opportunity, Micki wants to go there," Raiola said, as quoted by The Guardian.
"Micki has for months maintained that he may leave the club this summer. Dortmund presented an official offer which was rejected, but now the BVB bosses fear of their own fans. Suddenly... they tell Micki, that he should go next season on a free transfer. This is very bad management."
Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has other plans and he denied the suggestions made by Mkhitaryan's representative that the player will be allowed to leave in the summer transfer window.
"We have been negotiating a new deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan for four months. We now know he won't sign an extension. There was never a promise that he can leave us prematurely," Watzke explained, as reported by Sky Sports.
"We have intensely discussed the question of an early transfer in all club bodies and came to the conclusion that Mkhitaryan will stay in Dortmund next season."