Jose Mourinho seemed in a rather dark mood at his official unveiling at Old Trafford yesterday; stripped of any 'Happy One' affectations, instead defending his record of youth development before going on the attack, with a predictable snipe at Arsene Wenger.
In spite of Mourinho's self-professed record at developing youth players, where he really excels is in signing established European footballers whose position is ductile enough to be hammered into Mourinho's defensive shape. The latest of these comes in the form of Armenian Henrikh Mkhitaryan, signed today from Borussia Dortmund for a fee in the region of £27 million.
Dortmund confirmed the sides had agreed a fee at the weekend, but the finaliasing of the deal was delayed owing to Mkhitaryan's personal demands: presumably he is cognizant of the fact he won't be in the Champions League next season, so wants to be compensated for that. United are also in the financial bind of keeping his agent Mino Raiola sweet: he also represents Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi, believed to be two of Mourinho's prime targets.
Mkhitaryan has signed a four-year contract with the club. He scored 18 goals and assisted a further 20 in 48 games for Dortmund last season, and in even better news for United fans, he turned down a move to Liverpool in favour of the transfer to Dortmund in 2013.
Here's how to pronounce his name:
How do you pronounce our new signing's name? Let @HenrikhMkh explain... #MkhitaryanIsRed https://t.co/fduB4PNhv3
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 6, 2016
Those two great artists, Copy & Paste, would like to welcome Henrikh Mkhitaryan to the Greatest League In The World.
