Man Utd suffers huge transfer blow as Wolves star Raul Jimenez nears £72m move.

Manchester United are reportedly set to miss out on Wolves striker Raul Jimenez as news coming out of Spain is that the Mexican is close to agreeing a blockbuster £72million move to Juventus.

Portuguese outlet RTP yesterday claimed Jimenez was 'on his to United because Wolves are closing in on a deal for Sporting de Braga striker Paulinho. However, Spanish publication Marca claims it is Juventus who are nearing a deal for the 25-year-old. Jimenez scored 27 goals across all competitions for Wolves this campaign which has attracted interest from some of Europe's top clubs. The Molineux side missed out on Champions League football next term so may find it difficult to convince their star to stay put. United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is desperate for a new forward to provide Anthony Martial with competition for a starting spot.

But they will have to look at other targets as Jimenez is apparently on his way to Italy.

Marca report that Juventus had an initial bid of £45m turned down but a new offer of £72m is expected to be accepted.

This publication reiterates that Paulinho is on his way to Wolves with agent Jorge Mendes close to completing formalities.

Meanwhile, Mexico manager Gerardo Martino has recently tipped Jimenez to join United over Juventus.

"Looking at it from the outside today I cannot see a specialist number nine like Raul at United," he told ESPN. "There are many forwards like (Marcus) Rashford, (Anthony) Martial and the boy who now plays as right winger, (Mason) Greenwood but since Romelu Lukaku left I can't see a pure number nine like Raul. "At Juventus he will have more of a fight because (Cristiano) Ronaldo shares the inside of the pitch with whoever plays alongside him, with (Paulo) Dybala or with (Gonzalo) Higuain and maybe he has a tougher fight there." Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo responded to those claims, saying: "It's not an issue for us, we have a competition and a game to play.