Manchester United were in all sorts of trouble at the end of last season under Loius Van Gaal. There was a lot of uncertainty under the Dutchman and this didn’t bode well for the club. When chairman Ed Woodward brought in Jose Mourinho in the summer, he must’ve thought that such a move would spell the end for such troubles and uncertainty. But the reality of the situation has been far from that as Manchester United find themselves in a very precarious situation. Mourinho is off to a worst start than his predecessors Van Gaal and David Moyes, a stat that doesn’t make for happy reading.
After taking up the reins at Manchester United, Jose Mourinho brought in 4 big players to revitalize his squad and freshen things up. They were Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly. Only Bailly among the lot really impressed but even he is out with a serious injury at the moment. Paul Pogba and Ibrahimovic have impressed in flashes, but that is just not enough when you’re playing for a club like Manchester United. Mkhitaryan, who is rated at €46.5 million by the CIES Football Observatory, has failed to settle in following his high-expected move from Borussia Dortmund.
In Germany, the Armenian became renowned as one of the best number 10’s around. He scored and assisted aplenty in his time at Signal Iduna Park and endeared himself to fans, who worshiped him for a couple of years as he became the main string-puller in midfield. Mkhitaryan also forged a strong partnership with Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubamayeng and assisted many of the striker’s goals at his time there. Certainly a lot was expected of the Armenian when Mourinho brought him in to the Premier League. He was expected to solve Manchester United’s problems in attacking midfield by settling into the first team right away. But all he has done is struggle to even get into the team. He has made only 6 appearances in total so far. With only one of those being from the start, even in that, he was hooked off at half time.
Mourinho initially stated that Mkhitaryan wasn’t featuring much due to his inability to acclimatize to his new English surroundings. The style of play too had been difficult to adjust for Mkhitaryan. Mourinho also added that it would take the Armenian some more time to get adjusted to the rigours and the aggressive nature of the Premier League. Mkhitaryan ended last season at Dortmund with 23 goals and 32 assists for the campaign. Quite a sizeable tally for the Armenian as he impressed on all fronts. Mourinho might’ve signed him keeping that tally in mind but he has just failed to trust Mkhitaryan this season. The former Dortmund man has played just a total of 104 minutes in the league. Mourinho’s treatment of Mkhitaryan has been shabby to say the least and this has impacted the Armenian attacking midfielder in a negative way as he struggles to look for inspiration in his Old Trafford hurrah, which could come to an abrupt end if things don’t change soon.
He was also struggling with a thigh injury that kept him out of a few games, but that he was traveling with the squad everywhere shows that he was fit enough to play on some occasions and Mourinho just didn’t show enough faith in his new signing by giving him game time. After the recent 2-1 loss to Fenerbahce in the Europa League, Mourinho has come out and said that he expects Mkhitaryan to do more. The Armenian played a part in the game as he came off the bench.
He looked lively in a couple of moments but that was it as Manchester United lost 2-1. Mourinho also named a list of players that Mkhitaryan must do better than, to get into the starting XI. Mourinho has always been absurd with his statements and looks like it just going to continue at Manchester United. Whether such treatment of Mkhitaryan will inspire him or deter him remains to be seen.