Armenian international and Manchester United star Henrikh Mkhitaryan has vowed to make it back into Jose Mourinho’s starting XI, insisting that his Manchester United “Dream” has not yet ended.
The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder was signed by the Red Devils for £26.3m in the summer transfer window. But ever since he made his move from Germany, the 27-year-old has played few minutes for the club because of his injury trouble.
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Mourinho was forced to sit out Mkhitaryan so that he could recover to full fitness. The Armenian finally returned for the club against Fenerbahce in the Europa League after almost two months on the sidelines after coming on late in the second half.
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But it was too late for the attacking midfielder to make any kind of impact on the game as Fenerbahce won the game 2-1. The Manchester United manager was not a happy man after watching his team’s disappointing performance and did not shy away from showing his anger.
Even Mkhitaryan was not spared by the United manager and he said that the Armenian “needs to do more” - even though the player had just returned from injury. Although the 27-year-old is aware of his lack of playing time for the club but he is also determined to prove a point to demonstrate his true potential for the club.
“It is true that I get little time on the field, but I am not going to give in,” he told reporters after being appointed as goodwill ambassador for Unicef in Armenia. “I went a long way to play in Manchester United, so nothing will prevent me from achieving my dream. I will not retreat, I will find the strength to reach my goal.”
The Armenian is one of a few players that Mourinho has criticised over the last couple of weeks, with the club’s defenders Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling also ticking off the Portuguese manager. Both defenders had ruled themselves out of Manchester United’s 3-1 win at the Liberty Stadium last week which led to the manager questioning their mental toughness.
Mkhitaryan was Mourinho’s primary target in the summer as the player has the potential to create and push the game forward with his passes and also open up spaces in the defence.
His spectacular performances for Borussia Dortmund last season saw him win the Bundesliga Player of the Year award.
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