Report: Dortmund “intensify contact” with Henrikh Mkhitaryan over possible return

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has had a poor start to his second season at Manchester United. The Armenian international thrived at times last year, but has been in and out of the team this year.

Recent struggles have put him firmly in Jose Mourinho’s dog house, and now a move away from Old Trafford could be on the cards this January.

According to Ruhr Nachrichten, Dortmund are very interested in bringing Mkhi back to Germany. Here’s a decent translation of the RN story:

BVB does not want to put pressure on possible activities in the transfer market. In focus: Manuel Akanji and Henrik Mkhitaryan.

One thing is clear: BVB does not want to join in the price hype of FC Basel in the case of central defender Manuel Akanji. According to information from this editorial office, the club has intensified its contact with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

The return of the “Mozart on the ball” depends, of course, on two crucial factors: Manchester United would have to accommodate the BVB significantly in the transfer, the Armenian himself would have to give up a good part of his estimated annual salary of 12.5 million euros.

RN is one of the best sources for BVB news, so there’s good reason to believe that this report is true. It’s a bombshell, considering Mkhi only left Dortmund for €42 million 18 months ago.

The addition of Akanji is a crucial one, as Peter Stöger’s side could really use some defensive reinforcements after an atrocious first half of the season at the back. But it’s unclear if a Mkhitaryan return makes as much sense for Dortmund.

Dortmund have quite a few talented attacking players already in the squad. And that’s not even including Mario Götze and Marco Reus, who should be returning to the fold not long after the second half of the season gets underway.

Still, the move will be worth it if Mkhitaryan can regain his form from his incredible final season with Dortmund. He’ll turn 29 later in January but could be rejuvenated by the freedom that comes with leaving a team managed by Jose Mourinho.

There are less-credible rumors that Inter Milan are also interested, but you’d have to think that a return to the familiarity of BVB would be Mkhi’s first choice.