Manchester United re-signing proven trophy-winner Zlatan Ibrahimovic may be more important than the £75m Romelu Lukaku capture
Veteran Swede is set to be handed a new contract in October after stunning doctors with his speedy recovery
ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC could still have an important role at Old Trafford next season despite the arrival of Romelu Lukaku.
Even in the treatment room, Zlatan Ibrahimovic continues to amaze.
Currently recovering from cruciate knee ligament surgery at United’s Carrington training base, the 35-year-old is making impressive progress and is tipped to return to first team action in October, rather than next January, as was originally predicted.
The good news doesn’t end there for the striker either, with United manager Jose Mourinho reportedly prepared to offer him a new short-term deal, providing he can prove his fitness.
Now, regular readers of this column will know that I wasn’t completely convinced by Ibrahimovic’s performances last season.
A look at the goal scoring column for the 2016/17 campaign makes such a comment look foolish, but, I always felt that United’s approach suited Ibrahimovic more than the team, and as a result, other areas suffered.
In fact, I’d go so far as saying that at times, United’s over-reliance on him meant that Mourinho’s team were laboured and dare I say it, predictable.
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With a return pencilled in for later in the year though, this time it could and should be very different.
Cast your mind back to 2007; who can remember that two-month period between January and March, when United agreed a loan deal with Swedish club Helsingborgs for Celtic legend Henrik Larsson?
Despite only scoring three times in 13 appearances, Larsson joined at a critical point of the season and left a huge impression on all at the club, helping United on their way to the Premier League title, their first in three seasons.
During that period, Larsson was surrounded by an outstanding array of emerging talent including the likes of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. Blended together with Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, Larsson understood what winning was all about, having won numerous league titles in Scotland with Celtic, and only six months before joining United, lifted the Champions League trophy with Barcelona.
Could then, history repeat itself for another legendary Swedish striker? If Ibrahimovic does stride out in front of the Stretford End again, he will not only do so to a hero’s welcome but also with considerably less pressure on his shoulders.
During his first stint at the club the onus was very much on Ibrahimovic to try and drag United to the top of the mountain; whereas his new aim, after regaining match sharpness, could be to help ease United over the line as champions of England while providing winning guidance to Eric Bailly, Ander Herrera, Marcus Rashford and the rest of the class of 2018, in the same way Larsson did for Rooney and Ronaldo 11 years earlier.
It would be typical of Ibrahimovic if he were to defy not only medical predictions, but to then follow it up with a league winners medal round his neck.
One potential obstacle could be his ego which is unlikely to have been damaged. But, if he is willing to accept a supporting role behind Lukaku then it could be the end to his United career he dreamt about last summer.
Lukaku is younger, more mobile and will provide the goals and three points; re-signing Ibrahimovic could be the masterstroke that helps United win the league and breathes new life into the ageing lion.
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