Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
In what must already be the most protracted transfer saga of the Summer we can all now rejoice as Zlatan Ibrahimovic has finally confirmed what was arguably the worst kept secret in Football. The former Swedish international will be signing for Manchester United
After such a long drawn out process you would be forgiven for not caring all that much but United fans will have grounds for celebration as the former PSG forward will now move to Old Trafford and once again link up with Jose Mourinho
It’s fair to say he had a dismal Euro 2016 in which Sweden went home without a point, Ibrahimovic himself only had 7 shots on target throughout the whole tournament and he also missed out on the opportunity to become the first ever man to score in four successive European Champions
Jose Mourinho and United fans alike will be hoping that they have signed the Ibrahimovic who ran riot in Ligue 1 for PSG and not the one who was seemingly carrying a whole nation on his shoulders over the past few weeks. The question that everyone else will be asking though is whether or not Manchester United have signed the Swede a year or two too late
Is Ibrahimovic over the hill? – He will have to start quickly to make sure the doubters are not proved correctly, let’s not forget this is someone who has won 13 league titles in 15 seasons and how United fans would love that run to continue next season
There’s not many big name signings that come to the Premier League at the age of 34 but there was ever to be an exception then this man must surely be it. It’s no coincidence that he has won trophies wherever he has gone and with the chance to pair up with his old boss at Inter Milan Jose Mourinho once again you get the feeling that this could be a pretty ominous partnership
What will be deemed as success for Ibrahimvoic’s stint at Old Trafford, you would imagine at least a 10 goal minimum next season would be required as a benchmark and then any trophies on top would be an added bonus and go someway to paying back the hefty wage that he is due to collect
Also where does this put Marcus Rashford in the pecking order. The battle of youth vs experience, perhaps at 34 Ibrahimovic won’t be playing every game but you can’t help but feel for Rashford personally this signing has come at the worst time for his personal development.
For all the questions that will be asked now and throughout the season one thing we do know is that Old Trafford certainly will not be a dull place next season.
