Manchester United outcast Henrikh Mkhitaryan has some great stats this season despite being exiled… should top European clubs bid for him?
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HENRIKH MKHITARYAN has found his recent opportunities at Manchester United limited under Jose Mourinho.
Despite a fast start, he hasn’t featured in the playing squad in their last four fixtures.
Our friends at Football Whispers look at whether he would be a good signing for a top club and how much he would cost.
Questioned about his absence, the Portuguese boss explained the situation in a recent press conference.
“I can only have six [outfield] players on the bench and I try to have some balance on the bench – I had two defenders and [Daley] Blind who can play in different areas. I had Ashley Young to cover me all of the wing and the wing-back position.
“I had [Ander] Herrera as a midfield player, Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] as a striker and Marcus [Rashford] as a second striker and winger,” continued Mourinho.
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“I played [Anthony] Martial, [Juan] Mata and [Jesse] Lingard in the team. To have Micki means that I don’t have one of them and, in this moment, I believe the other ones they deserve [the chance to play].”
Rather than being the Armenian’s poor form, the performances of the players in front of him has knocked Mkhitaryan down the pecking order.
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The 28-year-old started the season in excellent form, picking up two assists in the wins against West Ham United and Swansea, then he made it five in three games by adding another against Leicester City.
Yet, in the next nine games he failed to record a single assist and there were noticeable dips in his performances.
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Due to his impressive start, he still leads United with an average of two key passes per game, still ahead of Mata on 1.6, the little Spaniard has only added two assists in 10 starts.
Looking at the player’s Expected Assists record, Mkhitaryan is averaging 3.01. Although he is behind Martial and Rashford, again, he stops Mata on 2.38 this season.
During his last season in the Bundesliga, he scored 11 goals and picked up 15 assists, his key passes were up at 2.7 and he averaged 2.6 completed dribbles per game.
After struggling to make an early impression under the Portuguese boss, he worked hard and eventually won Mourinho around.
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His efforts to improve after arriving in England makes his recent omission more difficult to understand.
Inter Milan have expressed their interest in the midfielder, and adding Mkhitaryan to the likes of Mauro Icardi and Ivan Perisic, they would fancy their chances of surprisingly winning Serie A this season.
He is contracted until 2020 and it is unlikely United won’t want to sell him cheaply, especially after paying £30million to land him from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2016.
If Mourinho think he no longer needs the Armenian international, the Portuguese boss would still expect to pick up a return of around £20-25million in January.
Ideal for the Spanish, Italian, or possibly a return to Germany, he is of an age where he can still produce at the top level and he would be an ideal addition to many top sides.