Manchester United have had an offer for Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan accepted.
The Armenia captain, who cost the German club £23.5m in 2013, is out of contract next summer.
“Had we refused it, the player would be available for free in 2017,” Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke told the club’s official website.
Mkhitaryan, 27, is yet to have a medical at Old Trafford and personal terms are still to be agreed.
If a deal for the player – who will require a work permit – is completed, he will become United’s third major signing of the summer after Ivory Coast defender Eric Bailly and former Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp recruited Mkhitaryan from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk when he was in charge at Westfalenstadion.
He was named Bundesliga Players’ Player of the Season in 2015-16 after scoring 18 goals in all competitions, including one against the Reds in the Europa League defeat at Anfield.
Mkhitaryan is the son of one of Armenia’s most famous footballers, Hamlet Mkhitaryan, and won the first of his 59 caps for his country a week before his 18th birthday.
