Ukranian club report that Liverpool target has gone AWOL.
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Liverpool target Henrikh Mkhitaryan could face disciplinary action from his club Shakhtar Donetsk after failing to report for training, according to the Daily Mirror.
The Armenian midfielder has been made a priority transfer target by Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers this summer, and looked close to agreeing a move to Anfield before complications arose due to his third-party ownership.
It seems the player himself is keen to leave Shakhtar, and although he has not been given permission to leave the club yet, he has failed to turn up for training and his whereabouts are not currently known.
In fact, it seems that a move to Liverpool may not have actually been in the works, with Shakhtar’s general manager Sergey Palkin claiming there has been no contact between the two clubs as of yet, and that they will deal with the matter of his behaviour internally.
Palkin said: “Mkhitaryan has not appeared for training. We do not know if he will arrive in the near future. He will be fined.
“He has not had any contact with Liverpool. I’m confident that reports of negotiations are just rumours. Liverpool have not made an enquiry about the player.
“We have not heard that Mkhitaryan wants to leave. All questions about his behaviour need to be addressed to him.”
Liverpool have been busy in the transfer window so far, bringing in Kolo Toure, Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto, with Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet expected to follow. They may now move for Ajax star Christian Eriksen if a move for Mkhitaryan does not progress.