Profile: Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not your average footballer. The man from Armenia, his country's captain and finest player, speaks six languages and is keen to embrace an academic future in retirement.

It is his fluent football, however, that will be of most interest to Manchester United fans. Borussia Dortmund's record signing when arriving from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013 may have taken time to shine in the Bundesliga but leaves the club as the DW Player of the Season. Scooping the fan-voted award is no mean feat when you consider the opposition from the galaxy of stars at Bayern Munich and the runner-up and former Red Javier Hernandez at Bayer Leverkusen.

Brought up in the most football obsessed of families - his late father Hamlet won two international caps while his mother and sister work in administration for the Armenian Football Federation and UEFA respectively - he thinks deeply about the game and is an intelligent individual off the pitch as well as on it. "I don't play football to become famous but to enjoy life," he once stated. "Football is everything in my life. I can't imagine life without football."

Although born in part of the former Soviet Union, he was relocated to France as a toddler when his father joined Valence and has had few problems moving around the globe to further his career. Indeed, he even had a trial with Sao Paulo in Brazil as a 14-year-old alongside a young Oscar, the Chelsea midfielder. Yet his initial breakthrough was more conventional, coming as a 17-year-old at Pyunik following a return to his native Yerevan, where his efforts earned a switch to a bigger platform with Metalurh Donetsk.

After becoming the youngest captain in Metalurh's history at the age of 21, he was swiftly handed the opportunity to move across Donetsk to Shakhtar and enjoy another rise in profile. The Don Bass Arena provided another step up and he relished it, emerging as a key performer for Mircea Lucescu's men and earning the Player of the Year award in 2011/12. Scoring and creating goals, buzzing around the pitch and causing problems for opposing defences, he grew in stature and cemented his reputation as one of Europe's most creative schemers.

"His game awareness may be his most valuable quality," commented coach Lucescu. "That and the speed, power and technique Henrikh was gifted by nature and has developed." The Romanian is a shrewd judge of talent and, as Mkhitaryan racked up eye-catching statistics and proved his worth in the Champions League, it was not long before the opportunity to join one of Europe's biggest domestic leagues would come calling.

Three years ago, Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund met Shakhtar's hefty valuation of one of their star assets and the pressure was on to justify the outlay. "There is no doubt in my mind that he is one of the most talented players in the world," said the current Liverpool manager, who ironically beat off competition from the Merseysiders to land his target. "He possesses an incredible combination of speed and technique. There are very, very few you can say that about."

His first season in the Bundesliga was impressive as Dortmund finished runners-up to Bayern Munich. However, as a deep thinker, during the following campaign, by his own admission, began to be too self critical of his performances and suffered injury problems. It was only really when Klopp announced he would be departing that the attacking midfielder started to come out of his shell. Thanks to the successful coach's replacement, Thomas Tuchel, the transformation was complete as Mkhitaryan blossomed into the player everyone predicted he would become.

"Last year, I didn't do too much," he said of the 2014/2015 season as Dortmund flirted with the relegation zone before powering up the table to finish seventh. "In order to take two steps forward, you sometimes have to go one backwards beforehand.

"You can’t be steady for your entire life, sometimes you need to be prepared for tougher times. Problems make you stronger. He [Tuchel] convinced me to stay but I also wanted to stay. I had things to prove to people to show I deserve to be here. I am thankful to him. He just gave me confidence and let me do what I can do."

The respect was mutual. Tuchel described him as a "great example" and "one of the best players [even if] he hasn't peaked yet." Making up for lost time, he was outstanding for Dortmund as they finished runners-up to Bayern Munich in the table last term and scored the opening goal at Anfield, even if the Bundesliga side contrived to lose a titanic Europa League tie with eventual beaten finalists Liverpool. It was not his first strike in England as he also netted his maiden Champions League goal for Dortmund during a 2-1 triumph at Arsenal in 2013.

A crafty attack-minded player capable of performing a variety of roles within any formation, he was exactly the sort of addition Jose Mourinho had in mind when taking over as Manchester United manager. Romanced by the idea of moving to Old Trafford, a transfer described as one that was impossible to resist by his agent, expect to see a technician capable of unlocking even the most stubborn of defences.

Hailing from a nation renowned for producing chess players, it is no surprise to hear he plays the game himself, and this could be how he is portrayed - as a man determined to use his brain and wit to outmanoeuvre the opposition. He will have to adapt to life in England, of course, but it is one of those six languages he can speak.

"You should always want to learn something new," he exclaimed. "When you stop learning, you stop living." Acclimatising to the Premier League will be a challenge, but with his intellect, attitude and work ethic, the smart money is on this latest signing flourishing under the shrewd man management of Mourinho.

Credit: Manutd.com