Jose Mourinho is lining up a sensational £50 million bid for Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey, reports say.

Manchester United have been trying to persuade Borussia Dortmund to sell their prized asset Henrikh Mkhitaryan for quite some time now. However, the German club are proving a tough nut to crack, especially after seeing Ilkay Gundogan join Manchester City on June 1. Impatient Mourinho has now set his eyes on Ramsey, who will command a transfer fee of at least £50 million, according to the Sun.

Arsenal have been linked with £20 million-rated Mario Götze, who seems keen to join a Champions League outfit, after falling out of favour at Bayern Munich. Arsenal can make a handsome profit of £30 million by flogging Ramsey to United for £50 million and replacing him with Götze.

Ramsey won the Arsenal Player of the Season award for his outstanding displays over the 2013/14 campaign as he claimed 16 goals and provided nine assists in 34 appearances. Though he has not replicated that form in the recent months, Wenger seemingly sees him as an integral part of the squad, handing him 31 appearances last season.

Arsenal only recently parted ways with three veteran midfielders, namely Mathieu Flamini, Tomas Rosicky, and Mikel Arteta, with only Granit Xhaka coming in. Accordingly, the manager may not want to deplete the squad depth by sanctioning the 25-year-old’s sale.

Wenger may choose to turn down United’s advances as he will look to avoid another Robin van Persie from happening. The fact that he would not only be selling him to direct title rivals but also to his nemesis Mourinho will likely suffice to put the deal off.