Manchester United are keen to sign Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario in January.
The Italian club are willing to let him go, but only if they can find a suitable replacement, with Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan an ideal candidate. The 28-year old has fallen out of favour at Manchester United with his manager Jose Mourinho openly criticising him in recent weeks for his declining output in terms of goals and assists.
Now it looks like a deal may be structured which would see Mario head to Old Trafford, with Mkhitaryan going in the opposite direction.
Mkhitaryan joined United from Borussia Dortmund 18 months ago, and, in his first season, helped the club win the Europa League, scoring in the final against Ajax, and the League Cup.
Mario, who is 4 years younger, is a Portuguese international who helped his country win Euro 2016.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.