Phil Neville is convinced Jose Mourinho has made the correct decision to ditch Henrikh Mkhitaryan and insists the move is purely ‘business’,
Mkhitaryan has found himself on the fringes at Old Trafford after a bright start to the season and hasn’t featured in a match for nearly a month.
His fast beginning to the season saw him provide five assists and score one goal in his opening five Premier League matches but he hasn’t contributed towards a goal since the middle of September.
The 28-year-old is now expected to be shipped out in the January transfer window, with Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund among the clubs keen to land him.
And Neville believes Mourinho is right to keep him out of the team.
‘Gary [Neville] highlighted at the weekend how many players from Sir Alex Ferguson’s era are still at United – and I think what it shows is how good a judge Sir Alex was,’ he told Sky Sports.
‘He brought players who were going to stay around and you’ve got to be a certain character to play under Jose; similar characteristics to what Sir Alex looked for.
‘Ashley Young is a good example. He works hard and is a winner, so it is no coincidence that a lot of Sir Alex’s players are still there.
‘Yes, they’ve spent a lot on players but maybe there are fewer and fewer players of that mentality available. You need to have them in the spine of your team.
‘There’s a lot of criticism of Jose’s treatment of Henrikh Mkhitaryan but he ultimately didn’t deliver when he’s played. He’s not unlucky, he’s lucky he gets to play for United.
‘Under Sir Alex, if I didn’t perform I wasn’t in the team. People need to stop sugar-coating it. If you don’t perform then you don’t get in the team or a new contract, it’s not Jose being personal, it’s business.’
Share this with