Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has explained why Henrikh Mkhitaryan has not yet figured in his first team, despite being a prominent figure in pre-season.
The 27-year-old joined the Red Devils from Borussia Dortmund last month for a fee thought to be close to £30m.
Mourinho started the attacking midfielder in three pre-season fixtures against Wigan Athletic, Dortmund and Galatasaray, but since then the player has struggled for a starting spot.
The Armenian was brought on in stoppage time of United's Community Shield win over Leicester City and for the final 15 minutes of last weekend's Premier League opener at Bournemouth.
When asked by reporters why Mkhitaryan has not been in the staring lineup, Mourinho said: "Options. I was reading the game against Leicester and I felt that we needed the speed of Jesse Lingard and, in the game against Bournemouth, that [Juan] Mata would help guard against their pressing really high. He could reach some spaces behind the line of the pressure and could be very useful for us.
"I decided to play [Wayne] Rooney in both games, close to Zlatan [Ibrahimovic], and I didn't start with Micki. When some managers buy players, they feel they have to protect their choices by playing the player all the time - I am not like this. Before me, comes the team and what I think is best for the team.
"I keep saying the same thing, though, that Mkhitaryan is a super football player and will give us a lot during the season."
United will play in the first Friday evening league game of the season when they take on Southampton at Old Trafford.
Danielle Joynson
