Manchester United Transfer News: Neymar Snubs Reds, Henrikh Mkhitaryan Rumours

Manchester United may have to give up on their dream of signing Neymar following reports that the Barcelona star will sign a new deal at the Camp Nou on Friday. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund have ruled out any chance of re-signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Spanish newspaper Sport confirmed that the Barcelona maestro will officially sign the five-year contract he agreed over the summer this Friday, making it clear he sees his long-term future in Catalonia.

Jack Otway of the Daily Express questioned whether the delay was due to United's interest in the player and the possibility that option could have been the reason behind his contract signing coming later than expected.

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Neymar's agent, Wagner Ribeiro, also confirmed to ESPN Brasil programme Bate-Bola that the Red Devils were indeed among the forward's suitors over the summer, as were Paris Saint-Germain.

Per Otway's report, he said: "He was close to joining PSG. He would have earned £36 million a year net. Neymar was also close to a spell at Manchester United, but he extended his contract to earn less at Barcelona because he wanted to stay at Barcelona."

Yahoo Sport UK's Andrew Gaffney emphasised what Neymar's re-signing means to his club, especially considering poster boy Lionel Messi, 29, will begin to enter the latter stages of his career in the coming years:

Neymar was a key component in helping Barcelona clinch a European and domestic treble in the 2014-15 campaign, balancing out the team's attack while Messi was sidelined with injury during that season.

Kaveh Solhekol of Sky Sports also provided more details surrounding Neymar's new deal, which will effectively make a transfer away from the club impossible for his suitors, United included:

Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has rejected the possibility of Mkhitaryan following the likes of Mario Gotze, Marco Reus, Shinji Kagawa and Nuri Sahin in returning to the club.

Mkhitaryan joined United in a £26.3 million deal over the summer following a three-year spell at Signal Iduna Park, and Watzke told German newspaper Kicker (h/t Sky Sports) that a reunion is not on the cards. When asked if the Armenian could come back to the club in future, he replied:

"

No. Any intelligent player should consider in advance what kind of environment they are moving to.

When you are playing in surroundings where things are working for you, like in Dortmund, then it is quite strange to give that away again once things have finally started to work out for you after a long time settling in.

"

The former Black and Yellows ace has made four Premier League appearances under manager Jose Mourinho this season, but Mkhitaryan recorded only one start for the club before picking up a recent injury.

Bleacher Report's Lars Pollmann illustrated just how important the attacker was at his former club, however, even if his stay in England has taken some time to get off the ground:

Reus spent time at Borussia Monchengladbach before returning to Dortmund, while Gotze had a stint at Bayern Munich and Kagawa lasted two years at United before making the move back to Signal Iduna Park.

Mourinho will still be hopeful of crafting the winger into a Red Devils success following a high-profile move from Germany, but Mkhitaryan won't be heading back to Dortmund when his time at Old Trafford comes to an end.