Ex-Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp: Mkhitaryan's United move no surprise

Jurgen Klopp said he was not surprised to see Henrikh Mkhitaryan leave Borussia Dortmund for Manchester United and that it was the ideal time for the Armenia international to make the move.

Klopp signed Mkhitaryan from Shakhtar Donetsk for €27.5 million while still in charge at Dortmund in 2013, making him the club's record signing, but the attacking midfielder only found his best form last season when Thomas Tuchel was in charge.

Dortmund opted to cash in this summer for a fee reported to be between £26.3m (€31.5m) and £35.4m (€42.5m) when United made a move for the 27-year-old, who had just one year remaining on his contract.

"I was not swept off my feet when I heard about it," Liverpool boss Klopp told Die Welt. "If a player plays such a season he gets so much attention and opportunities he never dared to even dream of before."

He added: "It was clear from day one that Mkhitaryan would not be at Dortmund forever. Last season was his year and there could not have been a better market than the current one for him."

He also played down the impact of Dortmund losing captain Mats Hummels to Bayern Munich and midfielder Ilkay Gundogan to Manchester City.

"At BVB we had to deal with the fact that these things happen every year," Klopp said.

"I think it's absolutely OK what Mats Hummels did, even though it feels totally weird. He was at Dortmund for over eight years -- what can you ask of such a player?

"He gave it his all for BVB, and I can understand that he wanted to do something different. However, a lot of people don't think it's cool he joined Bayern.

"Gundogan thought about leaving for a while. It was to be expected."

He said Dortmund had enjoyed an "exceptional" 2015-16 season, when they finished runners-up in both the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal, and said their work in the transfer market was "extraordinary."

He added: "Ousmane Dembele is good, Emre Mor is good, Mikel Merino is good, Sebastian Rode is good, Raphael Guerreiro is good. That fits."

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ESPN FC's Germany correspondent, Stephan Uersfeld, contributed to this report.