Griez is not man for Jose

negotiate a lower price perhaps by offering Wayne Rooney in a cash-plus-player exchange.

Golden Boot winner Harry Kane is hugely admired but is out of the equation because Tottenham will not sell their star striker. Torino’s Andrea Belotti and Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata also fit the profile for United, while they could attempt to hijack PierreEmerick Aubameyang’s move from Borussia Dortmund to Paris Saint-Germain.

Belotti, 23, has risen to prominence in Italy this season with 27 goals in 32 games for Torino. His release clause is the same as Griezmann’s at £87m.

Morata, who has worked for Mourinho before, has scored 20 goals in 42 appearances for Real but remains behind Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo in the pecking order at the Bernabeu. United would not be tempted by any swap deal suggestions from Real involving David De Gea going back to Spain.

United have not gone off Griezmann as a player and while a move for him this summer now looks unlikely, they have not ruled out buying him in the future.

For now, Mourinho believes that, in Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata, he already has options for the No10 role.

Rashford and Martial can both play off a main striker, while Paul Pogba is better when given licence to roam.

One thing is for sure, whatever way he does it, Mourinho has to improve United’s goals output if they are to challenge for the title.

They hit just 54 last season – 31 less than champions Chelsea and 32 fewer than Spurs – and Ibrahimovic was the only man to get into double figures for league goals.