- Jose Mourinho has explained Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s absence for Manchester United
- The manager’s words suggest the Armenian faces a fight for his future at Old Trafford
- Mkhitaryan has failed to even make United’s bench recently
- READ MORE: Man Utd given chance to seal transfer of £62m-rated star after major development
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has sent a worrying message to Henrikh Mkhitaryan regarding his current situation and future at Old Trafford.
The Armenia international has not been in United’s matchday squads recently, failing to even make the bench in a number of games, including yesterday’s win over Bournemouth.
When pressed over Mkhitaryan’s absence, Mourinho simply explained that there isn’t currently room for him to get in ahead of the likes of Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera, whom he says fully deserve their places in the squad.
‘I can only have six players on the bench and I try to have some balance on the bench,’ Mourinho is quoted in the Metro.
‘I had two defenders that can play in different areas, I have Ashley Young to cover the wing and wing backs position, (Ander) Herrera is a midfield player, Zlatan (Ibrahimovic) is a striker, Rashford is a second striker and a winger.
‘To have Mkhitaryan means I don’t have one of them and I believe the others deserve.’
MORE: Manchester United news
Mkhitaryan struggled to get going when he first joined the Red Devils last season, and it seems that even after a fine patch of form at the end of last season and the start of this, he has failed to completely win over the manager.
Some will question Mourinho giving up so easily on a huge creative talent, with Mkhitaryan shining as one of the top attacking midfield players in Europe at previous club Borussia Dortmund.
United could have done with that kind of spark in their side as they slumped to a poor performance and defeat against Manchester City last Sunday.