Manchester United news: Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s demotion explained by Jose Mourinho

MANCHESTER United’s playmaking problem child has now been missing from the match-day squad for seven of the past eight games. Jose Mourinho just gave a blunt explanation.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (L) with Paul Pogba of Manchester United.

JOSE Mourinho said Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s absence from his recent Manchester United squads is because other players are more deserving.

Mkhitaryan, signed by United for £26.3m ($46m) in July last year, has failed to make Mourinho’s 18-man squad for seven of United’s last eight games, with his only recent outing coming as a substitute against Brighton on November 25.

Mourinho said his wide range of midfield and attacking options means there is always going to be fierce competition for places on the bench as much as a place in his starting XI.

“I can only have six [outfield] players on the bench and I try to have some balance on the bench,” Mourinho said.

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“[Against Bournemouth] I had two defenders and [Daley] Blind who can play in different areas. I had Ashley Young to cover all of the wing and the wing-back position.

“I had [Ander] Herrera as a midfield player, Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] as a striker and Marcus [Rashford] as a second striker and winger.

“I played [Anthony] Martial, [Juan] Mata and [Jesse] Lingard in the team. To have Micki (Mkhitaryan) means that I don’t have one of them and, in this moment, I believe the other ones they deserve [the chance to play].”

Originally published as Manchester United news: Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s demotion explained by Jose Mourinho