London: Belgian international striker Romelu Lukaku is set to join Manchester United instead of champions Chelsea for a fee of 75 million pounds (Dh356.6 million), according to the British media.

Both the BBC and Press Association reported that the deal was all but done for the 24-year-old Lukaku, who will be reunited with Jose Mourinho, who sold him to Everton in 2014 for 28 million pounds when the Portuguese coach was in his second spell as Chelsea manager.

Everton had offered the former Anderlecht star the most lucrative contract in the club’s history after he scored 25 Premier League goals last season but he turned it down, saying he wanted to move on to another level.

This alerted several clubs to Lukaku’s availability with Chelsea initially the favourites but Mourinho — who enjoys excellent relations with his agent Mino Raiola — looks to have snatched him from under Antonio Conte’s nose.

If the deal goes through, Lukaku’s arrival at Old Trafford would suggest United cease their interest in signing Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid.

Raiola has had a profitable time since Mourinho took over at United last year, with the world’s most expensive player Paul Pogba, attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, all his clients, arriving at the club in 2016.

Wayne Rooney is likely to join Everton in return although that is being treated as a separate deal, even if the Merseyside club’s interest in the England striker will have helped facilitate the move for Lukaku.

Lukaku’s impending transfer to Old Trafford is likely to infuriate Conte, who had told the Premier League champions to sign the Belgian at any expense.

Chelsea were thought to be the favourites to sign Lukaku but United have been happy for that theory to gather pace in recent weeks as they worked quietly behind the scenes to secure a deal for the 24-year-old.

If United complete a deal for Lukaku before Sunday, as expected, it remains to be seen if Rooney’s return to Goodison Park, 13 years after he left for Old Trafford, is also wrapped up by then.

Everton chairman Bill Kenwright met with Rooney’s agent Paul Stretford in London on Wednesday as talks accelerated and there is a will to get the transfer completed by the weekend.

United have yet to confirm whether they are willing to waive a fee for Rooney, who has 12 months left on his £300,000 a week contract, £60,000 of which is accounted for by a complex image rights deal.