Jose Mourinho deserves credit for Henrikh Mkhitaryan handling, says Jamie Carragher
Sunday 11 December 2016 18:12, UK
Jose Mourinho deserves credit for his role in Henrikh Mkhitaryan's transition to life at Manchester United, according to Jamie Carragher.
The United boss has come in for criticism for his handling of Mkhitaryan following his £26.3m switch from Borussia Dortmund, with the 27-year-old starting just one of United's first 17 games amid reports of unrest and injury.
Mkhitaryan has since come to the fore, starting five of United's last six games in all competitions, the latest of which saw him hit the winner against Tottenham on Sunday.
It's a run of form Carragher argues vindicates Mourinho's use of the Armenia international.
"Jose Mourinho has been slaughtered for how he's handled Mkhitaryan," he told Sky Sports. "If you look at it over the last four games you can say he's actually handled him very well.
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"He's new to the Premier League, he was awful in his first game against Manchester City where he was brought off and he then had injury problems and couldn't get in the team.
"People question why, but that may have been down to Mkhitaryan's fitness or adapting to new training regimes, a new manager and team-mates.
"He's scored two goals and two assists in the last four games and maybe now the time has come to say Mourinho has handled him well.
"Mkhitaryan is still a new player getting used to the Premier League. Players take a long time to settle into the Premier League, some take a season.
Players take a long time to settle into the Premier League. Given the form Mkhitaryan is in, Mourinho deserves some credit.
"The form he is in at the moment, Mourinho deserves some credit."
United's victory over Spurs brought a sequence of three frustrating 1-1 Premier League draws to an end but it came at a cost as Mkhitaryan was forced off with an ankle injury.
He left the field to a standing ovation after his man-of-the-match performance and, given his recent form, United will be hoping he makes a swift recovery after finally finding his feet.
