The future is not looking promising for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, at least at Manchester United.
The Albanian midfielder has not featured for the Red Devils in the past few matches, not even making the squad since Paul Pogba's return from injury.
Mkhitaryan started the season very well, getting a goal and several assists in the first few games. However, his form faded and he failed to show impressive performances or output in the following seven appearances in the league. He had no assist or goal in those seven games, starting five of them and coming as a sub in the other two.
When asked about Mkhitaryan's exclusion against Bournemouth at home, manager Jose Mourinho had the following to say:
"I can only have six players on the bench and I try to have some balance on the bench," he said.
"I had two defenders that can play in different areas, I have Ashley Young to cover the wing and wing backs position, [Ander] Herrera is a midfield player, Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] is a striker, [Marcus] Rashford is a second striker and a winger. To have Mkhitaryan means I don't have one of them and I believe the others deserve."
Despite Mourinho's attempts to play down the exclusion, it is clear Mkhitaryan is not in the manager's immediate plans, even when he rotates the side as he did against Bournemouth.
A January exit would not be surprise, especially if United dip into the transfer market. But with the Red Devils being linked to Mesut Ozil on a free transfer in the summer, an end of season transfer seems the more likely scenario.