Rio Ferdinand makes honest admission about Henrikh Mkhitaryan at Man United
Rio Ferdinand discusses Henrikh Mkhitaryan's fall down the pecking order at Manchester United
Rio Ferdinand believes that Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been dropped by Jose Mourinho simply because he wasn’t delivering for Manchester United.
The Armenia international has been left out of the squad altogether by the Portuguese coach for Manchester United’s two recent games against Newcastle United and Basel.
Mkhitaryan has struggled to produce long periods of consistent form for the Red Devils since his move to the club from Borussia Dortmund last summer.
The 28-year-old had made a strong start to this season, with one goal and five assists in the Premier League, but the playmaker failed to net or set up one of his team-mates in his most recent six games.
And former Manchester United defender Ferdinand feels that Mkhitaryan has been dropped simply because his performances have not been good enough.
Speaking to BT Sport on Wednesday night, Ferdinand said: “Earlier in the season, Henrikh Mkhitaryan was providing assists.
“But I think importantly, when Paul Pogba was out, Jose Mourinho was looking for someone to take up that place as the creator, with the personality to go out there and really take games by the scruff of the neck.
“I don’t think he produced in that sense. Pogba has been providing chances for Romelu Lukaku and Mkhitaryan unfortunately wasn’t able to do that.
“Mourinho doesn’t mess about. When he makes a decision on a player he tends to stick by it and is very calculated in what he does.”
Manchester United will now have to dust themselves down after their 1-0 defeat by Basel in the Champions League on Wednesday night as they prepare for their Premier League trip to Brighton on Saturday.
The Red Devils are currently Manchester City’s closest challengers and sit second in the table and eight points behind the Citizens after 12 games.
