Borussia Dortmund have confirmed the signing of Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund have signed Henrikh Mkhitaryan Shakhtar Donetsk, the German club have announced.
The Armenian player, who has been linked heavily with Liverpool all summer, has signed a four-year-deal and cost almost €25 million.
Liverpool fans will be disappointed after the 24-year-old Armenia international midfielder, who scored a whopping 25 league goals for Shakhtar last season, had been earmarked as Brendan Rodgers’ number one transfer target.
The move does however pave the way for the Northern Irishman to sign Christian Eriksen of Ajax instead, who had previously been linked strongly with Borussia Dortmund.
Some sources, including the BBC’s chief football writer Phil McNulty, suggested Liverpool were willing to meet Shakhtar’s asking price for Mkhitaryan but the player’s representatives preferred to do business with the Bundesliga outfit.
Dortmund had money to spend on a midfielder after losing star man Mario Goetze to rivals Bayern Munich for £33m earlier this summer.
To answer many questions. Liverpool happy to meet buy-out in Mkhitaryan contract (no lack of financial ambition) but unable to get to player
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) July 7, 2013
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