Manchester United have made an official approach to Bayern Munich over the possible transfer of the Germany defender Jérôme Boateng.
The 29-year-old is top of José Mourinho’s wishlist as he desperately tries to bolster his squad before the transfer window closes on Thursday.
The United executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, has spoken to the Bayern CEO, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and inquired how much it would cost to sign the experienced defender, who has a contract at the Bundesliga club until 2021.
United were told that Boateng would cost between €50m and €60m and that Bayern were not interested in a swap deal involving the United winger Anthony Martial.
Boateng has been a key figure at Munich since his arrival in 2011.
Woodward and Rummenigge enjoy a good relationship but United are unlikely to do business at that price. Boateng, who has played 73 times for Germany and became a world champion in 2014, joined Bayern in 2011 from Manchester City and has won six Bundesliga titles during his time in Bavaria.
The 29-year-old is keen to join a top club abroad and Bayern are willing to let him go if they receive an offer they are happy with it.
United face competition for Boateng from Paris Saint-Germain but the French side still have to sell players to comply with financial fair play rules. The PSG coach, Thomas Tuchel, has already had a meeting with Boateng and is desperate to have him in the Ligue 1 champions’ squad.
United lost their final friendly before the Premier League starts on Friday, 1-0 at Bayern Munich on Sunday night, and afterwards Mourinho told MUTV: “My CEO knows what I want and I still have a few days to wait and see what happens. The other clubs who compete with us are really strong and already have fantastic teams. Or they are investing massively like Liverpool, who are buying everything and everybody. If we don’t make our team better, it will be a difficult season for us.”
