Friday, 28th June, 2013
Henrikh Mkhitaryan's future could be swinging between England and Russia, after a former team-mate of the Armenian revealed the Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder is desperate to leave Ukraine at the very least.
Recent weeks have seen no less than Tottenham Hotspur, Borussia Dortmund and Anzhi Makhachkla barge into the race for Mkhitaryan's signature, following Liverpool's interest in the player.
His release clause is understood to be €23m, but the club have given suitors a 10-day deadline to meet their valuation of €30m.
Anzhi had seemingly pulled ahead of the pack with their bid of €35m and could snap up the midfielder, even as the player's former team-mate explained Liverpool remain the Armenian's first choice.
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"Henrik Mkhitaryan wants to leave Shakhtar at any cost", explained Serbian journalist Aca Stojanovic, who revealed to Inside Futbol that he was passing along the views of one of Mkhitaryan's former team-mates.
"He was keen to move to Liverpool, but now would accept Anzhi's offer. But the deadline is 10 days."
The 24-year-old, Ukraine's leading scorer last season, is currently facing a fine from Shakhtar for failing to turn up for pre-season training.
While the club may be less-than-pleased at that move, Mkhitaryan has been hailed by his former team-mate, especially given the player's displays that helped Shakhtar win the league yet again.
He said: "Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a top player and a great person as well. He slept in Shakhtar's training camp, not in a rented apartment
"He was available for his team-mates at any time, day or night."
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