By: Evan Drummer
There are several exciting talents who are still currently on display at this summer's European Championships, but one distinct player whose country failed to qualify is the 27-year-old, Henrikh Mkhitaryan. With news breaking early this morning that a deal had been completed, this article will look to give the average Manchester United supporter a brief overview of Mkhitaryan and what to expect when he puts on the famous red shirt for the first time.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan completed 19 assists last season, the highest in Europe's top 5 leagues.
"How do you say his name?"
Henrikh [ Hen-rik]
Mkhitaryan [Muck-e-terry-an]
But if you don't believe me, ask this Liverpool supporter...
Where is he from?
Henrikh was born in Yerevan, Armenian SSR to Marina Taschyan and Hamlet Mkhitaryan who was a prominent striker for Armenian club FC Ararat Yerevan. Henrikh spent the majority of his early childhood in southeastern France idolizing Zinedine Zidane. He always aspired to be a professional footballer like his father, although he had dreams of being a lawyer after studying economics at the St. Petersburg Institute.
Will he walk into the first team?
Yes. Henrikh is coming off of a fantastic season at Borussia Dortmund where he had the Bundesliga's most assists, as well as being voted the Player's Player of the Year. Mkhitaryan outscored every United player in all competitions last season and was directly involved in 55 goals for Dortmund. He will bring pace, skill, and creativity to United's attack, and will most likely be used like Eto'o was at Inter Milian under Jose Mourinho. During this time, Eto'o would play off the striker (Milito) but drift out wide into more of a winger-type position during counter attacks. It is a mouthwatering prospect to think of this replicated at Old Trafford between Mkhitaryan and Zlatan, which is sure to entertain and excite supporters. One aspect of Mkhitaryan's play that is frequently overlooked is his ability to make late runs towards the top of the box, similar to Lampard at Chelsea. Mourinho may look to utilize this ability as well. Henrikh is fluent in Armenian, English, German, Portuguese, French, and Russian so communicating with the coaching staff and other teammates should not be an issue at all. I think this will help Henrikh settle in much quicker than most foreign players in their first season in the Premier League, and we should see an impact on the pitch right away.
How much are we paying for him?
Sky Sports is reporting a transfer fee of £26.3m. Henrikh will sign a 4-year deal, in which he'll make £10m per year or £190,000 a week according to Ruhr Nachrichten.
But what does it all meme?
Running Man Challenge with Aubameyang
Driving challenge with Shinji Kagawa
Personally, I am very excited about this transfer and seeing how Jose utilizes his talents. This is a fantastic video which will display the wide range of his talents, and not just an insane YouTube compilation highlighting the same goals I'm sure you've seen countless times.