Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been left out of the Manchester United squad for today’s Premier League game against Burnley at the Turf Moor.
The Armenia international is currently a part of a potential swap deal which sees Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez making his move to Manchester United, with Mkhitaryan travelling the other way. While there are sure shot reports that Manchester United are intensely pursuing the Chile international, the move is being delayed for unknown reasons.
There are various aspects to this speculation. First things first, United’s interest in Alexis Sanchez came out of nowhere, but judging from how Mkhitaryan has fared at the Old Trafford till date, it is perfectly fair to say United are spot on in identifying their target. Let’s go back to the previous summer transfer window and take a note of how deeply Mourinho wanted to sign an out and out winger.
Inter Milan’s Ivan Perisic was heavily linked with the club but with the Italians playing utter hardball, United were left completely red-faced. The need of an out-and-out winger was made evident when Lukaku started struggling in front of the goal. The towering Belgian is your target man, he’s the fox in the box; he is never the one who can tick the game right from the half-way line. And this is where Alexis Sanchez comes into the frame.
The Chile international was recently dropped from Arsenal’s squad which lost 2-1 at Bournemouth, while at the same time, United manager Jose Mourinho decided to leave Mkhitaryan when his side faced Stoke on Monday. Meanwhile, the Portuguese has accepted that United are in negotiations and has also admitted that Mkhitaryan – who has been left out of the squad for Burnley’s game – will be a part of the deal as well.
“There is no point in trying to hide or deny, but it is not done at all,” said Mourinho.
“I think clearly everybody knows that we are there and especially when Arsenal manager speaks so clearly like he did. I like to be out, I am out and I will just calmly wait for news, no more than that,” he added.
Seems like it is just a matter of hours before we see this highly awaited move get completed.
