Jose: Why I Signed Mkhitaryan

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has told MUTV exactly why he has made Armenian forward Henrikh Mkhitaryan his third signing of the summer at Old Trafford.

Mkhitaryan’s transfer from Borussia Dortmund was confirmed on Wednesday and it follows the previous arrivals of Ivory Coast defender Eric Bailly and Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

During an exclusive interview with MUTV, Mourinho highlighted the 27-year-old’s excellent record in the Bundesliga and expressed his admiration for the player’s ability to unlock opposition defences.

“First of all, in Zlatan, we have brought in the player who was voted the best player in the French league and in Micki we have brought the player voted the best player in the Bundesliga,” Jose said.

“He was voted not by the fans, not by the journalists but voted by fellow players and that is what means more, I believe, because when your fellow players choose you it means a lot.

“Micki is a fantastic player and what I like more is something undeniable, which is the number of goals he scores by not being a striker. His number of goals per season is really high for somebody who is not a striker and the number of assists is also very clear. It shows his creativity, vision and concept of collective play, and is something I believe is really important for a club like us.

“We try to be dominant and will, for sure, face teams with a very defensive profile so his capacity of acceleration of the game, and he has a change of speed with and without the ball, is very, very important for a club like ours.”