According to the Daily Mirror's David McDonnell, Fergie could be looking to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the 27-year-old striker has been strongly linked to Barcelona over the last few weeks, amidst reports that Inter Milan are keen to hang on to the Swedish star who has twice been voted Serie A player of the year.
McDonnell is the Mirror's main Manchester United correspondent and it's interesting that this story has been labeled as an exclusive, although the term is much over-used these days and often rendered meaningless, you do wonder if this story has some merit to it.
Even though Ibrahimovic isn't exactly blessed with pace, or indeed prolific in front of goal, he is the type of striker that might well compliment Fergie's existing array of attacking options. Ibrahimovic often divides opinion on his worth, there will be those who do not see what all the fuss is about while others put stock on the player's all round technical ability.
Ferguson needs to find a striker who will link well with Rooney, after one full season it doesn't look like Berbatov will be that man. The jury is very much out on new signing Michael Owen, the former Newcastle and Liverpool star at his best was more or less exclusively a penalty-box forward who in his pomp relied on the service of former colleague Steven Gerrard who would often ping long balls to the diminutive striker in goal-scoring positions.
Even if we see a resurgent Owen next season it's fair to ask if he is the type of striker who is best suited to play alongside Rooney, because as things stand without any shadow of doubt Rooney is going to be the most important attacking striker in Ferguson's armoury. If United are going to be successful next season much will depend on Rooney's ability to convert more goal-scoring opportunities and obviously playing on the flank will not enhance his chances of improving his tally, so not only does Ferguson need to add more fire-power, he also needs to review deployment of his most potent weapon.
The famous Zlatan Ibrahimovic Backheel
United may sign Ibrahimovic, the may not. United might sign other players - but who knows....All I know is that come next May - they will still be crowned Premier League Champions.
ReplyDeleteRemember the Hansen statement? You won't win anything with kids? Remember when David Beckham left? When Van Nistelrooy left? When Stam left? When Cantona called it a day? And when by far the best goalkeeper in the world by the name of Schmeichel left? What happened? United continued to dominate. And that will continue.
Ray Abdilla - Mosta, Malta
I don't want him come to Old Trafford, he's not a real No.9, a little bit similar to D.Berbatov and worse than him...
ReplyDeleteRay,
ReplyDeleteI hope you're right, but I seriously fear you're wrong.
Ruud,
ReplyDeleteIn some respects you're right, Ibrahimovic is a bit like Berbatov - lazy - but would he be a better target man? I think he could be.
james,
ReplyDeleteIMO, what Man Utd need is Louis Saha "healthy", a paceful centre forward with two feet, but Ibrahimovic is not. If you chase Ibrahimovic, how much you need to pay for him? Around 50M I think. If you have enough money, why don't you chase the player you really need? You think Ibrahimovic is better than Berbatov and maybe you are right, but it does not mean that you really need him.
Definitely a better target man then Berbatov. Ibrahimovic has proven at the best league in Europe in terms of defending, that he can score twenty five goals a season.
ReplyDeleteI constantly read how he single-handedly turns games around for Inter and sparks vital comebacks and have seen the most audacious of finishes from him. Didn't he do the backheel at the last world cup against Italy, was it?
If he doesn't drop back, and if he gets used to the pace of the Premier League rapidly. He will be an excellent striker who can get United out of tricky situations and score the most beautiful of goals.
Still, this is still speculation. And his success is not guaranteed. We'll just have to wait and see.
Uday,
ReplyDeleteGood comments, as you say let's wait and see... I cannot remember that back-heel though.
Ruud,
ReplyDeleteSaha was a mard-arse too, and we don't want another one of those..
Here's one for the bookies:
ReplyDelete- Mourinho fell out with Ronaldo (thinks he's a peasant) - Ronaldo moves on
- Mourinho thinks Ibra is the best player on the planet - he's linked to Utd
- Sir Alex replaced by ...
This is Gill preparing for life after Ferguson.
Don't all rush to ladbrokes...
I like him and rate him as a player. He is lazy but always seems to get a lot of goals over a full season. One thing he has been slated for is bottling the big games. The guy has never scored a goal in champions league knockout stages. Were it not for his age I would have put him top of my list of strikers for united. At 27/28 he is in the prime of his career but unless we flog him in a season then we could never get any money back. For the present he would be a good signing but like berba it would be for a few seasons only.
ReplyDeleteI don't really think Ibrahimovic worth this kind of price tag. He is quite old but he is good I agree.
ReplyDelete