Manchester United news: Henrikh Mkhitaryan snub branded 'unbelievable' by Owen Hargreaves

The Armenian has only played four games for the Red Devils this season

Mkhitaryan joined in a £26m deal from Borussia Dortmund in the summer (Getty)

Henrikh Mkhitaryan should be a Manchester United starter, says former Red Devil Owen Hargreaves.

The 27-year-old was one of Jose Mourinho’s four summer signings, along with Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba, but has hardly featured for United, whereas the others have started every game.

Mkhitaryan has only started once since his £26m arrival from Borussia Dortmund – against Manchester City when he was substituted after 45 minutes – but came off the bench in each of the three games before that one.

The Armenian picked up an injury on international duty in September but has yet to make an appearance since, with Mourinho claiming although he was no longer injured, he was not match fit.

However, Hargreaves, who won the Premier League and Champions League with the club in the 2007/08 season, cannot believe the treatment of a player who named Bundesliga’s Players’ Player of the Year last season.

“He needs to play, I can’t believe that he’s not getting a look-in. He would be a banker in my starting XI,” Hargreaves told Squawka.

“He had a slow start at Dortmund too and he was the players’ player of the year last season. He got 23 goals and 32 assists, which is staggering numbers.

“This wasn’t in a terrible league against pub teams and I can’t think of anybody who could put up those numbers besides Messi and Ronaldo. He’s a top player and we haven’t seen it yet at United.

“The thing is, he’s such a wonderful player but I think he’s also quite a sensitive guy. It would have been perfect if he started off flying with goals and assists, but the slow start has probably hit his confidence.

“For me, you have to play the players that can help you win the league. There is a way to get Mkhitaryan, [Paul] Pogba, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [Anthony] Martial and [Marcus] Rashford in the same team and United could be frightening if these guys all clicked.

“Ultimately, Mourinho has to find a way to get them in the team because if they are playing, United could win the Premier League.

“Manchester United’s best XI should be good enough to go toe-to-toe with anybody.”