Manchester United ready to sanction Henrikh Mkhitaryan's sale and replace him with Arsenal star Mesut Ozil

Manchester United are open to the idea of allowing Henrikh Mkhitaryan leave in order to make room for Mesut Ozil.

The Armenian international arrived at Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2016. After an initial struggle, the 28-year-old adjusted to the needs of the Premier League and saw a dip in form in the second half of the season.

Mkhitaryan started the 2017/18 campaign on a bright note with five assists in the first three matches. Since then, he has failed to register an assist in the league and his poor form forced Jose Mourinho to drop him from the squad.

The playmaker has made only one appearance since the last international break in November. According to the Daily Mail, the Portuguese tactician is willing to sanction the sale of Mkhitaryan and replace him with the German international next summer.

The United manager has already explained why Mkhitaryan has been absent from the Red Devils' squad in the last few matches.

"I had two defenders that can play in different areas, I have Ashley Young to cover the wing and wing backs position," Mourinho said.

"[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 [to be selected]."

Mourinho is open to the idea of allowing out-of-favour Mkhitaryan leave and has identified Ozil as his replacement at Old Trafford. The latter's current deal at Arsenal will run down after the end of this campaign and the ex-Chelsea boss is looking to sign his former player on a free transfer in the summer.

The World Cup winner has so far decided against signing a new contract. Arsenal are planning to make a last ditch effort in keeping him at the Emirates and are ready to offer a new deal which is close to £300,000-a-week ($400,533 per week).

Ozil played under Mourinho when the pair were at Real Madrid. Should he decide to join United, he will reunite with his former manager at the club. However, the Red Devils are likely to face competition from Barcelona for the player's signature.

Another report from the Daily Mail suggested Arsene Wenger's key star is ready to snub any advances from the Catalan club in order to join the 20-time English champions after the end of the season.

Multiple reports have emerged that Mourinho is willing to allow Mkhitaryan leave United in January. United may have to struggle to replace him with Ozil in the mid-season transfer window what with Wenger confident that Ozil will stay put until the next summer.