What would Ibra bring?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a huge star, but what would he add to Manchester United on the pitch? Adam Bate takes a look…

Paul Scholes has already praised his “character” and “charisma”, while former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen calls him “the perfect fit” because of his record as a serial “winner”. Peter Schmeichel claims the striker is “born to play for Manchester United”.

Clearly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a reputation. And rightly so. His swagger has echoes of Eric Cantona and the Swede’s mere presence would inspire belief. After all, Ibrahimovic was lifting league titles with Ajax before Marcus Rashford had started school.

He is trusted by Jose Mourinho – a man he claims to speak to on the phone “every day” – and could be an important conduit in a dressing room curious about the new coach, rather than in his thrall. An experienced figure “willing to kill” for Mourinho might well prove vital.

But while much of the focus thus far has been on these intangibles, many of them also applied to Didier Drogba. Mourinho turned to the ageing forward in 2014 and the Chelsea legend went on to play his part in the club’s title win that season. A small part.

Manchester United would need Ibrahimovic to offer more, much more, than four goals and a dressing-room presence. They’d be anticipating a star striker who can lead the attack. So, just a few months shy of his 35th birthday, what could Ibrahimovic be expected to deliver?

Signs of decline are not obvious. Ibrahimovic has just produced the best goalscoring season of his career, netting 50 times in 51 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain – some 15 goals more than his next best effort. It’s the second best tally of any striker in a major European league.

While this was a stand-out season, his record is otherwise a model of consistency. Ibrahimovic has passed the 30-goal mark in all competitions in each of his last five seasons and scored more than 20 goals for nine seasons in a row at four different clubs.

Some will point to the perceived weakness of the French league and it’s true that Ibrahimovic has twice failed to find the net against PSG’s closest rivals, Monaco and Lyon, in the past 12 months. But his Champions League return has been impressive …

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