Manchester United have agreed a deal worth £75million for the transfer of Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, according to ESPN.
The sports broadcaster claim that the Reds have hijacked the 24-year-old’s move to former side Chelsea and as a result will abandon their pursuit of Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata.
They also report that the Spanish striker was actually Jose Mourinho’s first choice to replace departing forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
It had been claimed by football website Goal that the Old Trafford side had submitted a bid of £70million in order to secure Morata’s signature, but that Real Madrid were looking for another £9million on top of that.
However, it appears that the Spanish giants will be getting nothing for him for Mourinho’s side, as BBC Sport report on their website that the Reds hope to tie up a move for Lukaku before they travel to the United States for their pre-season preparation.
They also claim that the deal for Lukaku is not in connection with Everton’s proposed move for former striker Wayne Rooney, although the Telegraph claim that United could well use Rooney as a makeweight to secure the Belgian’s signing.
The Mirror say that the England international could move to Goodison Park on a temporary deal, with the Toffees not willing to match his £250,000-a-week contract that he currently has at Old Trafford.