Former head coach of the Dutch national team Danny Blind has expressed the view that Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho this season has a group of irreplaceable players, naming midfielder of the Armenian national team Henrikh Mkhitaryan among them, Manutd.one reports.

"Mourinho has six players who form the backbone of Manchester United - David de Gea, Antonio Valencia, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Romelu Lukaku. Valencia, in addition, is the captain. Around these six favorites he can change other players," Blind told ZiggoSport.

Blind is confident that the team's success on the attacking line largely depends on the Armenian playmaker.

"Everyone is talking about Lukaku scoring a lot of goals, but an attacker needs players for assists," Blind says.

"He (Mkhitaryan) is very important for United. He maintains the pace of the game, he is able to create dangerous moments, and he perfectly reads the game."

The Armenia international made something of a slow start to life at Old Trafford following his transfer to the club from Borussia Dortmund last summer.

However, his form in the second half of last season improved as he helped Manchester United to win both the League Cup and Europa League.