Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves has said that he "can't believe" that Henrikh Mkhitaryan continues to be overlooked by Jose Mourinho.
The 27-year-old's only start since his £26m move from Borussia Dortmund this summer saw him hauled off at half time, while he has been left out of the last two matchday squads despite being fit and ready to play.
United's latest outing saw them lose 4-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge - a result which left them seventh in the table - and Hargreaves cannot see why Mkhitaryan is not being involved.
"He needs to play, I can't believe that he's not getting a look-in. He would be a banker in my starting XI. He had a slow start at Dortmund too and he was the players' player of the year last season. He got 23 goals and 32 assists, which is staggering numbers. This wasn't in a terrible league against pub teams and I can't think of anybody who could put up those numbers besides Messi and Ronaldo. He's a top player and we haven't seen it yet at United," he told Squawka.
"The thing is, he's such a wonderful player but I think he's also quite a sensitive guy. It would have been perfect if he started off flying with goals and assists, but the slow start has probably hit his confidence. For me, you have to play the players that can help you win the league. There is a way to get Mkhitaryan, [Paul] Pogba, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [Anthony] Martial and [Marcus] Rashford in the same team and United could be frightening if these guys all clicked.
"Ultimately, Mourinho has to find a way to get them in the team because if they are playing, United could win the Premier League. United are seventh in the league and at some point they have to start winning games. He set his stall out himself by saying that United need to challenge to win the league.
"Mourinho is the best in the game at tactically setting up to defend but it's not enough. He needs to trust the top players he has and find a way to get the likes of Mkhitaryan and Shaw in his team, to get the best out of Pogba and Ibrahimovic. Manchester United's best XI should be good enough to go toe-to-toe with anybody."
Mkhitaryan has been on the field for just 105 minutes in all competitions for United this season.
Barney Corkhill
