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Dortmund was wise to sell Mkhitaryan to Manchester United

By Griffin Wesche

Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg on April 30, 2016 at the Signal Iduna Park stadium in Dortmund, Germany.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg on April 30, 2016 at the Signal Iduna Park stadium in Dortmund, Germany.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images) /
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Manchester United wanted Mkhitaryan and Dortmund cashed in

With the announcement coming out of Dortmund this morning that Henrikh Mkhitaryan is indeed on his way to Premier League, pending a physical, there are bound to be fans who will cry that the sky is again falling in Dortmund. While not ideal to lose three key players in one transfer window, sometimes a deal just makes too much sense to pass up. This was perhaps one of those times.

Today’s announcement comes after last week’s rejection of a 24.5 million Euro offer for the player. The new offer is rumored to be close to 42.5 million for the 27-year-old Armenian playmaker. If these reports are indeed true, BVB would be wise to take the money and run.

Dortmund purchased Mkhitaryan in the summer of 2013 for 27.5 million Euros from Shakhtar Donetsk. After an impressive first season with Die Schwarz Gelben, Mkhitaryan’s second season with the club saw him record a regression in goals with several key misses in big match situations.

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Although this was the same year Dortmund lost their main offensive weapon, Robert Lewandowski, to domestic rival Bayern Munich, Micki’s drastic decline in quality finishing and playing confident football was a major factor in their fall from European graces. Entrenched in a fight for their top flight lives by the winter break, they managed to scrounge up a 7th place finish and qualify for a Europa league place.

This past season (2015-2016) saw a resurgence for the German club, and as such a return to form for Mkhitaryan. He recorded his second highest scoring numbers to date, 23 goals in all competitive matches, and was a major contributor to Dortmund’s Europa Quarter-Finals run.

While these are great numbers, it was wise that Dortmund wasn’t swayed from accepting the revised United offer and in turn generating a 15 million Euro return on a player that does not wish to be at the club any longer. Mkhitaryan has already declined at least one extension offer from BVB and his agent has expressed Micki’s interest in playing for a club like Manchester United.

The fact that Mkhitaryan is ready to move, in conjunction with the sheer number United is willing to offer, Dortmund would very wise to pull the trigger and send him on his way. If the number is indeed the figure that’s being reported, this transfer is the 41st most expensive transfer in European history, narrowly beating out the recent deal Arsenal made for Granit Xhaka.

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Dortmund has the quality to cover for Mhkitaryan’s absence in-house already but with a spot assured in the Champions League yet again next season, they could are in need of depth, however chances are they themselves are not done in the transfer market either, having been recently linked to several starting caliber center mids as well. Nobody likes to see a fan favorite and valuable player leave, but this is a classic revenue generating buy-low-sell-high transfer.

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