Monday 17 October 2016 12:01, UK
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has ruled out a return for Henrikh Mkhitaryan following his slow start to life at Manchester United.
Mkhitaryan signed for United, who face Liverpool on Red Monday live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7pm, from Dortmund in a £26.3m deal during the summer.
He has started just one Premier League game so far this season - the 2-1 defeat to rivals Manchester City in September - but was replaced at half-time by Jose Mourinho after an ineffective 45 minutes.
Current Dortmund players Shinji Kagawa, Nuri Sahin and Mario Gotze all left the Bundesliga club before later returning, but Watzke told Kicker he is not interested in re-signing the Armenia international, who scored or assisted 26 goals in 28 league starts last season.
When asked if there would be an opportunity for Mkhitaryan to return, Watzke said: "No. Any intelligent player should consider in advance what kind of environment they are moving to.
"When you are playing in surroundings where things are working for you, like in Dortmund, then it is quite strange to give that away again once things have finally started to work out for you after a long time settling in."
Mourinho described Mkhitaryan as a "super player" after two substitute appearances against Bournemouth and Southampton at the start of the season.
But the attacker, who is fit to face Liverpool after recovering from a thigh problem, has appeared just twice since August 19, and has not featured in the league since his half-time withdrawal against City.
Watzke played down suggestions the player's agent Mino Raiola encouraged Mhkitaryan to move, insisting the Armenian made up his own mind.
"In Mkhitaryan's case it was the player's decision," he added. "Raiola is intelligent, and he's a brute.
"He has a certain business model, but we knew that already when we sat down because of Mkhitaryan. You know what you have with him. Raiola acted correctly."
