Our landlord confiscated some crudely drawn plans from a set of Manchester United fans for a statue of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the Transfer Tavern the other day, which really does sum up the impact the big Swede has had in a relatively short period of time at Old Trafford.
Few players are good enough and have enough of a personality to truly dominate the landscape at the Theatre of Dreams, but ‘Ibra’ has done so so far, winning over the doubters upon his free transfer to Manchester from Paris Saint-Germain with the sport of goalscoring record he’s displayed through his career – 26 in 38 games.
It’s not just the quantity, though, it the quality and importance of his efforts that have stunned, with the 35-year-old’s most recent goal winning the club the EFL Cup Final – only their second piece of silverware since Sir Alex Ferguson’s 2013 exit and the maiden major trophy of the Jose Mourinho era.
Alas, Ibrahimovic may not be around too much longer. The Ageing Scandinavian only penned a one-year deal last summer, and although there’s already speculation he could add another 12 months to that stint, reports from Italy have suggested that Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune are willing to offer him… well… a fortune to see out his career in the Far East – which surely must be tempting!
And the serial title-winner may not be the only notable man heading out of the Man United exit door in a few months’ time, with these TWO stars potentially heading away…
Anthony Martial
Even though fans of the club love Martial, his future under Mourinho appears to be in doubt. A talented footballer with great technique and real pace, the Frenchman has the ability to dazzle on his day, but he blows how and cold – perhaps due to his young age – and ‘The Special One’ appears unconvinced by his abilities to the point that the Independent have mooted that he could be sold this summer to help clear space and free up funds to make a dramatic swoop for Antoine Griezmann viable.
With his 792 minutes of Premier League action this term, Martial has only played just over 60% of game-time available to him, which will surely be a cause for concern for the ex-Monaco man, who will be aware of the mooted interest in him, with Spurs said to be keen.
Wayne Rooney
All good things come to an end, and with Rooney having made himself Man United’s all-time leading goalscorer by netting his 250th for the club in January, he now has little left to achieve at Old Trafford. ‘Wazza’ has lifted more silverware than the majority of the game’s elite players and with his level of performance declining and Mourinho himself often overlooking his captain, a parting of the ways makes sense.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman has already hinted that an emotional move to lure the Liverpudlian back to Merseyside is on his agenda, while a £1m-a-week offer from China this month is unlikely to go away fully between now and the end of the campaign, so there’s every chance he will have options.
