"?Borussia Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be forced to stay at the club despite the fact that he has one year remaining on his contract, according to club chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke.
Mkhitaryan has attracted heavy interest from the Premier League with Arsenal and Manchester United keen on signing the Armenia international.
The 27 year old's agent Mino Raiola went as far as to suggest that his client has been pushing for a dream move to Old Trafford, saying: "Those in charge at BVB promised Micki months ago that he can leave the club in the summer," Raiola said, as quoted by "?Bild.
"Dortmund have an official offer, but the BVB bosses now fear their fans. All of a sudden they say that he has to leave on a free next summer. That's very bad management.
Midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan tells Dortmund he wants to leave - and Man Utd is his choicehttps://t.co/hlC1l7lfV1 pic.twitter.com/ZOMgG5Na4j
"Man Utd is a unique opportunity, Micki wants to go there."
Dortmund CEO Watzke is adamant that the Bundesliga outfit would be better served losing him for free in a year than accepting an offer from Arsenal or United and selling him now.
"We've been negotiating a new deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan for four months," Watzke said.
"We now know he won't sign an extension. There was never a promise that he can leave us prematurely."
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