‘Henrikh made a mistake’
HENRIKH MKHITARYAN’S decision to join Manchester United in the summer was “strange”, according to Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke.
The Armenia international has struggled to make an impact since his £26million move from Dortmund in the summer. He was dragged off at half-time after a nightmare 45 minutes in the Manchester derby – his only Premier League start so far – and has not played since because of a thigh injury.
Now Mkhitaryan faces a battle to win a place in the team and Watzke claims the attacking midfielder made a mistake leaving Dortmund just when he had found his feet in Germany and been crowned Bundesliga player of the year.
He said: “Any intelligent player should consider in advance what kind of environment they are moving to.
“When you are playing in surroundings where things are working for you, like in Dortmund, then it is quite strange to give that away again once things have finally started to work out for you after a long time settling in.”
Eric Bailly, another of Jose Mourinho’s summer signings, has enjoyed better fortunes and has been included on the 30-man shortlist for the African Footballer of the Year award.
The Ivory Coast defender has been a big hit since his surprise £30m move from Villarreal and has broken up the Chris Smalling-Daley Blind centre-back partnership that was a big positive for United last season.
Smalling has likened Bailly to former United captain Nemanja Vidic for his no-nonsense approach.
“He’s very physically imposing and really easy to play alongside – Nemanja was one of those defenders who was very aggressive, very dominant and took no nonsense,” said Smalling.
“Eric plays the same way. He can go through a tackle and he doesn’t take risks. If it needs to go, it goes.
“You can see the similarities there and I expect Eric to have many good years here.”