Manchester United have received consent from Wolverhampton Wanderers to complete a deal to sign Matheus Cunha, PA news agency has learned.
The 26-year-old has emerged as a key target for the Red Devils as Ruben Amorim seeks to turn around the side after the club's worst season in 51 years.
United had been trying to agree terms with Wolves over a deal for Cunha but have now met the Brazil international's £62.5m (€74.4m) release clause and have been cleared to begin medicals.
The striker thanked Wolves fans after the “best season” of his career in an Instagram post, scoring 17 goals in all competitions to equal the Brazilian Premier League record of 15.
Cunha celebrated his 26th birthday on Tuesday, and his birthday will be made even more joyful by the events of that evening.
That will be good news for United manager Amorim when he wakes up in Kuala Lumpur, where the club play a friendly on Wednesday and another game in Hong Kong two days later as part of a lucrative post-season tour.
Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo and Ipswich striker Liam Delap are also players of interest to United, but the situation has been complicated by their failure to qualify for the Champions League, which is valued at £100m.
Amorim said in Malaysia on Tuesday: “Omar (Berrada, CEO) can explain (the implications) better than me, but I think we always had two plans – one with the Champions League, one without the Champions League.
“Without the Champions League, we also don't need too big a squad. We can manage the squad better.
“Then we have a plan, which is to bring in new players, of course, but our main plan is to improve the team we have, improve our academy, because I think that's the future. It was in the past, so it can be in the future.
“It won't change that much because we have financial fair play rules. We're not allowed to do much this summer, even with the Champions League, so we're prepared for that.
“The main thing is to stay together, as I said on Sunday. We will have to fight, not everything will work out straight away, but I have a feeling and I see that the team is improving, so that is the most important thing.”
As United look to make summer improvements within their financial constraints, Amorim has stressed the importance of keeping key player Bruno Fernandes.
The 30-year-old has been a rare shining light in United's worst league season since relegation in 1973-74, which was compounded by last week's Europa League final defeat to another hapless club, Tottenham.
Fernandes admitted the club could benefit from him after the defeat cost them Champions League qualification, with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal interested in signing the Portuguese.
“You can see it in his play, his leadership, his passion for the game, so he is really important,” Amorim said.
“It was evident in the last game (Sunday's 2-0 win against Aston Villa). I felt the team were under no pressure and played quite well, everyone wanted to have the ball.
“But we have had difficult moments, and in these difficult times you see that Bruno is the person who takes on that responsibility.
“He needs to be on the pitch because he's the captain, he's experienced, so he's really important for us and really important for what we want to build with this team.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
