Manchester United Transfer News: Alvaro Morata, Jose Mourinho Plan, Top Rumours

Jose Mourinho is reportedly eager to sign Juventus striker Alvaro Morata for Manchester United should he succeed Louis van Gaal as manager at Old Trafford in the summer.

The Portuguese has been widely linked with the United job following the Red Devils' recent struggles in the Premier League and Europe, while El Pais (via the Observer's Ed Aarons) have reported that there is a pre-contract agreement in place for Mourinho to take over.

Morata is a target for a number of top European clubs, including Arsenal, Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund, but Mourinho will reportedly look to gazump them if he takes the top job at United, per Marca's Miguel Angel Lara (via Luke Gardener in the Daily Star).

The potential spanner in the works for all the clubs interested in Morata is that Real Madrid have a £23.7 million buyback clause on their former player, which they reportedly plan to activate before selling the 23-year-old "to the highest bidder," per MailOnline's Matt Barlow.

According to GianlucaDiMarzio.com's David Amoyal, Los Blancos value Morata at €50 million (£39.5 million).

United have not been afraid of splashing the cash in recent times, and given their current need for a new top-class striker, Morata may just be worth almost £40 million to them.

He has thrived since moving from Real to Juventus two seasons ago and has proved himself to be a top-quality goalscorer, especially in important matches—he scored five times in the knockout stages of last season's UEFA Champions League as the Turin club reached the final.

Recently he proved again that he is the man for the big occasion in the Old Lady's last-16 Champions League second leg against Bayern Munich, while also showing he is more than just a goalscorer, per BT Sport Football:

United's front line is currently made up of very young players—Memphis Depay, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford—with the injured Wayne Rooney providing the experience.

Morata, though also still young, has been exposed to the top levels of European football, and he could be a useful addition to the United squad.

The prospect of a United front line that includes Morata, Memphis and Martial is an exciting one, especially when local boys Lingard and Rashford are thrown into the mix as well. 

Mourinho's ability to attract top stars to United has been touted by Bleacher Report's Dean Jones as one of the reasons the Red Devils should appoint him:

The former Real boss gave Morata his senior debut at the Bernabeu, and he undoubtedly has the savvy to persuade the player to re-join him at Old Trafford despite interest from elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Real centre-back Raphael Varane has given United renewed hope that they may be able to sign him after refusing to rule out a departure from Los Blancos.

The 22-year-old Frenchman has been a target for the Red Devils for some time and said he is not making any long-term plans at Madrid, per French outlet L'Equipe (h/t Marca, via the Mirror's Liam Corless):

"

[I] like to play in every match. The coach knows what I want, but it's up to him to make the decisions 

I've spent five years playing with the best and I've never lost heart. Without strength of character it's impossible to stay at Real Madrid.

It's pointless making long-term plans in football. I'm happy in Madrid. I want to keep improving to go to the next level. We'll see how my situation develops, but I'm not having any headaches over it anyway.

"

Of Real's 30 La Liga games so far this season, Varane has started only 18, per WhoScored.com.

At United he would surely be a more regular starter, and it seems he would at least be open to the idea of leaving the Bernabeu if the Red Devils made an approach.