Henrikh Mkhitaryan was supposed to show that Manchester United can attack under Jose Mourinho... but what has happened to one of Europe's best playmakers?

MKHITARYAN

More than Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Eric Bailly, the £27million signing of Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund last summer was supposed to show that Jose Mourinho had fully bought into the attacking traditions of Manchester United.

Mkhitaryan, one of Europe's most sought-after playmakers with quick feet and incisive movement, was meant to sprinkle fairydust around Old Trafford and turn it into the Theatre of Dreams once again.

He was also key to Mourinho proving he could be like Sir Alex Ferguson and play on the front foot, rather than David Moyes or Louis van Gaal primarily frightened of defeat.

What's happened since has been sobering for player, manager and club.

Mkhitaryan has failed to play a full game for United despite their troubles this season. Dortmund Chief Executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has barely concealed his glee. 'Any intelligent player should think in advance what kind of surroundings they are moving to,' he said.

United's Champions League winner Owen Hargreaves added after the 4-0 trouncing at Chelsea on Sunday: 'I can't believe he is not getting a look in. He would be a banker in my starting XI.'

Mkhitaryan is an intriguing character. An international with one of Europe's lesser lights, Armenia, he grew up in France and his sister has built a career working for Uefa. Mikhi, as he was known in Germany, is represented by super-agent Mino Raiola just like Ibrahimovic and Pogba.

His signing by United captured the imagination of their fans who have been brought up on inventive and intelligent No 10s.

It also seemed to reduce the fears that Mourinho had become an ultra-defensive and divisive coach unable to change despite his problems at Chelsea.

Mkhitaryan was a pure footballer in United's best tradition. No less a figure than Roberto Carlos compared his style to the best in Brazil. He glides past defenders and helped Dortmund reach the 2013 Champions League final under Jurgen Klopp.

Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs have all been heavily linked with the 27-year-old in the past, but United got their man.

His first appearance in a pre-season friendly for United at Wigan whetted the appetite. He buzzed around playing first-time passes between the lines and had an acceleration that took him past markers easily.

Yet when the Premier League started, he was on the bench with Rooney given the prestigious No 10 role behind Ibrahimovic with Anthony Martial and Juan Mata either side.

Mkhitaryan might have been disappointed but he couldn't argue as United went into the first international break of the season with a 100 per cent record.

That's when it all started going badly wrong. Mkhitaryan injured his knee ahead of the Manchester derby and was rated a doubt, until Mourinho unusually appeared to take a reckless gamble with his teamsheet, changing a winning line-up to incorporate Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard.

The move was a disaster. United were 2-0 down at half-time, when Mkhitaryan was withdrawn, and lost the match 2-1.

Mourinho's post-match comments about the first half: 'You have to be completely ready in terms of your thinking and decision-making' were taken badly by the player, who had been unexpectedly thrown into the biggest match of the season for his first United start.

There have been dark mutterings that the relationship between Mourinho and the player hasn't recovered since. Mourinho himself seems to be in the middle of an identity crisis, one minute trying to prove he is a rightful heir to United's thrill-a-minute football - hence his line-up against City - the next trying to bore his way to a result, using wingers Ashley Young and Marcus Rashford as extra full-backs against Liverpool to get a 0-0 draw.

What is factually undeniable is that Mkhitaryan - a far better offensive than defensive player - hasn't kicked a ball for United since that day on September 10.

An ongoing thigh injury has been cited as part of the reason though Mourinho declared him and Luke Shaw fit before the game at Liverpool a week ago. Shaw appeared as a substitute at Anfield but Mkhitaryan didn't and wasn't even in the 18-man squad for the defeat at Chelsea when the manager's defensive tactics backfired.

Now all eyes will be on the teamsheet for the League Cup tie against Manchester City at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

If Mkhitaryan misses out again, talk of a rift will become stronger despite Mourinho noting his 'super quality' early on.

With United lacking creativity, he would seem a natural to fill the No 10 role in which neither Rooney nor Paul Pogba have been successful so far. Juan Mata is another candidate.

Mkhitaryan could also drift off the flank in a 4-2-3-1 and has enough speed to be a wide man in a 4-3-3 though he faces competition from Marcus Rashford and Martial.

What's clear is that for all the strength, power and pace in United's squad, nobody is capable of linking play at speed in the final third like Mkhitaryan. And he can score goals from midfield – 25 in one season for Shakhtar Donetsk before moving to the Bundesliga.

Pogba, Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and the 2016 version of Rooney wouldn't get close to that.

He may not be the strongest player defensively, Mourinho was always on to Hazard to work harder at Chelsea, and has sometimes struggled with heavy marking but that is not what United's success is meant to be based on.

Mkhitaryan is an imagination player. If Mourinho lacks the imagination to use him, United fans will worry that for the third time in a row they have a manager ill-suited to succeed Ferguson.