Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has insisted that the club would not be interested in re-signing Man United ace Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The Armenian international left the Bundesliga giants this past summer after growing into an integral part of their success, scoring 23 goals and providing 32 assists in all competitions last season.
Having made the move to Manchester, it hasn’t quite gone to plan for him as of yet, with the 27-year-old limited to just five appearances and minimal playing time due to a combination of injury and competition for places.
Dortmund have a history of taking their former players back with the likes of Nuri Sahin, Shinji Kagawa and Mario Gotze doing so in more recent times, but Watzke has ruled out the possibility of the club making a move to seal Mkhitaryan’s return.
“No,” he responded when asked by Kicker if he they would be open to bringing him back.
“Any intelligent player should consider in advance what kind of environment they are moving to. When you are playing in surroundings where things are working for you, like in Dortmund, then it is quite strange to give that away again once things have finally started to work out for you after a long time settling in.”
In turn, the creative playmaker will have to continue to try and force his way into Jose Mourinho’s line-up in the coming weeks and months to make his move to the Premier League a success.
With the likes of Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford being preferred on the wings coupled with Juan Mata’s presence through the middle, opportunities haven’t gone Mkhitaryan’s way.
It’s something that Wayne Rooney has also come to find out about in recent weeks, but with multiple trophies on offer to United this season, the pair will both hope that they will be rewarded if they continue to work hard in training.