Henrikh Mkhitaryan should be a Manchester United starter, says former Red Devil Owen Hargreaves.

The 27-year-old was one of Jose Mourinho’s four summer signings, along with Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba, but has hardly featured for United, whereas the others have started every game.

Mkhitaryan has only started once since his £26m arrival from Borussia Dortmund – against Manchester City when he was substituted after 45 minutes – but came off the bench in each of the three games before that one.

The Armenian picked up an injury on international duty in September but has yet to make an appearance since, with Mourinho claiming although he was no longer injured, he was not match fit.

However, Hargreaves, who won the Premier League and Champions League with the club in the 2007/08 season, cannot believe the treatment of a player who named Bundesliga’s Players’ Player of the Year last season.

“He needs to play, I can’t believe that he’s not getting a look-in. He would be a banker in my starting XI,” Hargreaves told Squawka.

“He had a slow start at Dortmund too and he was the players’ player of the year last season. He got 23 goals and 32 assists, which is staggering numbers.

Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Thibaut Courtois - 6 out of 10 Only had to make a handful of saves, but was safe between the sticks. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Cesar Azpilicueta - 7 out of 10 Defended very well, looked strong throughout and worked hard. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings David Luiz - 6 out of 10 Did all of the simple stuff well – did his job. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Gary Cahill - 7 out of 10 He deserved his goal to double the tally following an impressive performance. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Victor Moses - 8 out of 10 Tremendous performance from the Nigerian. Looked threatening going forward and defended incredibly well. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Nemanja Matic - 7 out of 10 Another great performance from Matic – his work rate was faultless and played some clever football. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings N’Golo Kante - 6 out of 10 His goal was a display of individual brilliance – fantastic finish. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Marcos Alonso - 6 out of 10 Did very well both on and off the ball and attacked with menace. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Pedro - 7 out of 10 His early goal set him up for a momentous performance in true Pedro fashion. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Diego Costa - 6 out of 10 Was desperate to get his name on the scoresheet, but aside from failing to do that – he done very well with his positioning and passing. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Eden Hazard - 8 out of 10 What a performance from the Belgian. He was pacey, skilful and made all the right decisions. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings David De Gea - 5 out of 10 He made an early mistake with the first goal by being caught in the wrong position and then the three following goals account to a disappointing day for the Spaniard. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Antonio Valencia - 7 out of 10 Defended well, put in some exceptional crosses and through balls. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Chris Smalling - 4 out of 10 A dismal display by Smalling’s standard, he was caught out of position regularly and made some bad decisions in possession. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Eric Bailly - 6 out of 10 Did his job at the back, but could have been stronger with his tackles. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Daley Blind -5 out of 10 Poor positioning for the first goal and was struggling to keep up with the pace of the Chelsea attack. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Ander Herrera – 6 out of 10 Tried to make the most out of a bad situation, but his efforts went unrewarded. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Marouane Fellaini - 5 out of 10 Was quiet in the middle of the park – could have done more and for a man his size and build, he was getting beaten in the air. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Marcus Rashford – 6 out of 10 Was careless with possession which is out of character for him, but he did show the occasional glimpse of skill with his pacey runs down the flank. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Paul Pogba – 5 out of 10 It was a dull performance for a man of such brilliance. He never seemed to settle and was struggling to maintain possession. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Jesse Lingard – 6 out of 10 Made a few good balls and tested Courtois on the occasion, but there was only so much he could do. Getty Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0 player ratings Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 5 out of 10 Aside from an early header and a late volley, he had very little attacking impact on the game. Or any impact at all for that matter. Getty

“This wasn’t in a terrible league against pub teams and I can’t think of anybody who could put up those numbers besides Messi and Ronaldo. He’s a top player and we haven’t seen it yet at United.

“The thing is, he’s such a wonderful player but I think he’s also quite a sensitive guy. It would have been perfect if he started off flying with goals and assists, but the slow start has probably hit his confidence.

“For me, you have to play the players that can help you win the league. There is a way to get Mkhitaryan, [Paul] Pogba, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [Anthony] Martial and [Marcus] Rashford in the same team and United could be frightening if these guys all clicked.

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“Ultimately, Mourinho has to find a way to get them in the team because if they are playing, United could win the Premier League.