Can't believe some of the reactions in here to us losing him. If he goes we are in big trouble unless of course we sign someone like Griezmann and with no Champions League next season he won't be coming here that's for sure, why would he.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Transfer Speculation
- Thread starter Classical Mechanic
- Start date
Agreed 100%.
Though, at this time, I don't give a damn about brand value.
I want to see goals.
Scoring 0 goals in so many of our games is disheartening.
...because he is the only player in our team who consistently scores goals?
Why would you want to sell our most prolific goal scorer?
Haven't you heard? He's old and slow...
If Ibra leaves and a WC forward isn't brought in, we are fecked.
If Ibra will leave which I don't hope he does, then the club will 'break the bank' for a new striker.
The contract is irrelevant, Ibra has to want to stay, Jose and the club wont make him.
They can't make him.
You/we can't sell him. We don't own him.
The point is that with Ibra, it's temporary. If it's not this summer it's the next. It's not like he's gonna be here for 5-6 years is it? You can't build the team around him.
You'd of course have to sign a capable replacement.
Pretty interesting words from Ibrahimovic:
You can read the rest here: http://www.espnfc.com/manchester-un...know-the-premier-league-is-begging-me-to-stay
You can read the rest here: http://www.espnfc.com/manchester-un...know-the-premier-league-is-begging-me-to-stay
It sounds like Zlatan wants to see what is going to happen with the squad next season before committing. He's been around the block, and it won't be lost on him that too many players in our squad just aren't of the quality required to compete at the highest level. If we invest and improve sufficiently, I suspect he'll stay. If, for some reason, the purse strings are tightened, he'll be off.
Honestly, I would rather have Zlatan leave next season. Don't get me wrong. I think he's amazing and we've benefited from his goals and his presence in the team. But, we need to start building for the future. If Zlatan does not leave this summer, he will for sure the following summer. And it won't happen if Zlatan is here. He will always start ahead of any striker. And we need someone a lot younger and we can't just depend on him the entire time. We need to start playing like a team like the way Chelsea do. If Costa is out, they've still managed to score without being affected. That's the sort of team we need to build. All I see is Pogba shooting long balls in the box hoping Zlatan will get at the end of it and do something with it. We're not a long ball team. We were never a long ball team unless we were chasing a result in the last 10 minutes of the game.
I would actually like to see Zlatan stay for another season. He's actually exceeded my expectations this year. If we can improve the quality around him, he may even be more productive next season. He starts every match because, honestly, he's by far our best option up top.
That's said, I understand your view as well. At his age, Zlatan is a short term solution. I wouldn't be heartbroken if he left, provided we replaced him with a striker of sufficient quality (perhaps easier said than done).
Honestly don't think signing Griezmann would be enough, unless we suddenly change our midfield and left wing.
Martial/Rash
New wing - Griezmann - Mkhitaryan
Pogba - Some beast of a player to balance it all.
But even then there would be question-marks over how Martial & Rashford would do as our main strikers, and how the new midfield would do.
I struggle to rate Rashford, but then i mostly see him at the wing where his only move is "kick and run fast", no skill on the guy outside of the penalty area.
I would absolutely love if he stayed at least one more season.
But let's be honest..the fact that he hasn't signed yet, probably means he's leaving
But let's be honest..the fact that he hasn't signed yet, probably means he's leaving
Zlatan is going to be disappointed when he arrives to LA. They have a 27k people stadium that doesn't even fill regularly. Not a lot of quality in the team to link up with other than maybe Giovani dos Santos. They don't exactly dominate the league. The club is not going to be playing in the continental competition.
Don't see the appeal myself. I'd rather go to China for the real big bucks.
Don't see the appeal myself. I'd rather go to China for the real big bucks.
If he goes there, I doubt he will care about the club as MLS clubs are basically pre-retirement assignments. Zlatan will probably spend his time in Santa Monica and making trips to Vegas for UFC shows.
You're right that he won't stay for long, but building a team usually takes a couple of years. So why should the striker position be the priority for next season when there's clearly a lot of other positions that need strenghtening. It's actually quite 'stupid' (not saying you're stupid just trying to make a point, even if I'm bad at it
) to not want to keep one of the top 3 in the club no matter the age of the player. If Mourinho will make big Changes then I'm not that sure if any thing will be won next year or even the year after, since the other top clubs are so much ahead already. I would also assume that Mourinho probably wouldn't be allowed to stay if he can't win the PL and just get to top 4 the next 2 seasons, or would he, I'm not sure anymore?However, if Ibrahimovic doesn't want to stay, then it's a different situation and then it's a necessity rather than changing things for the sake of it.
I was ambivalent when we signed him but I hope he stays another year.
One thing's for sure, if we hadnt signed him and had relied upon Martial and Rashford to lead the line as some on here wanted....we'd be pushing for 10th place this season.
Well to be fair, someone else would have been bought, but it's not certain that they would have made an impact.
I still think (hope) that he's waiting for Beckham's club. But when will it be ready? 2018, 2019, 2020 or never?
Haven't you heard? He's old and slow...
Which he is, even you can't deny that tbh.
I still think the uncertainty is just the usual agent/contract nonsense, but if he does choose to go then my position remains the same as it was a few weeks ago: it's been great and I'd wish him well.
This isn't like Ronaldo pissing-off as he was about to enter his prime - at Zlatan's age he's the best judge of what he's capable of, and if he doesn't think he can hack another season in the Premier League then it's best for all to move on.
This isn't like Ronaldo pissing-off as he was about to enter his prime - at Zlatan's age he's the best judge of what he's capable of, and if he doesn't think he can hack another season in the Premier League then it's best for all to move on.
Not that I believe what Keys is claiming, but I somehow doubt he will move to the retirement league or half his current salary, when he can play another year for United, under Mourinho in the best league in the world, possibly in the CL as well.
I have no hard feelings for him for whatever he chooses anyway. He's old and has had a great career. He's done well for us and without him we would be worse off no doubt. He deserves whatever he wants.
I do believe if he does go then we will bring in another striker who will cost a fortune. So that is exciting but at the same time I love having Zlatan a United player.
I do believe if he does go then we will bring in another striker who will cost a fortune. So that is exciting but at the same time I love having Zlatan a United player.
From his comments its clear he has major doubts about staying and our ability to win. And there is a lot of noise around this move to LA. I think unless we win the Europa And make big name signings then he will go. As much as I have loved him this season if he wins the Europa League in Stockholm and then leaves for LA, I will be able to look back with fondness on his time here but also accept that our team could do with a faster and more clinical striker in his prime instead. I don't think that will be Griezmann however who will stay in sun-soaked Spain. Mertens and Belotti are more realistic targets imo.
Someone wrote above that if Zlatan was not there we would be pushing for the 10th place! Really! Last year we had Rooney -yes, Rooney - as our front man and we missed 4th place by a whisker. The year before that we were actually 4th! With Rooney again!
If he wants to go he should go. Great service this year, better than a lot of us probably expected, but if his head is elsewhere it's best for all parties for him to move on.
We definitely would need a reliable goalscorer to replace him though - as without him we just don't score enough goals. I'm sure Jose is on the case.
We definitely would need a reliable goalscorer to replace him though - as without him we just don't score enough goals. I'm sure Jose is on the case.
How's this "for sure"? You have some sort of magic ball that lets you see alternate realities? With Rooney, Martial and Rashford last season we were 5th. We added Ibra and we've ascended up to the heights of...5th. We're a measly 6 goals better this year (after same number of games), and that's despite having added Pogba and Mkhi to our CMs and AMs respectively.
I don't disagree that our attack would be poorer. It's just the hyperbole that I can't stand. For a team that creates as many chances, someone else would have piped up with goals. Maybe not as many, but we wouldn't fecking 10th. Ibra is not the difference between United and Watford for gods sake.
I can't 100% explain but I feel like Ibrahimovic is a big reason why players like Martial and Rashford are actually not playing well and our attack is slow and utterly depedant on him having a good game or not.
So I actually hope he won't renew his deal and we can sign somebody new who will hopefully work better alongside Martial and Rashford who I still see as the future of our attack.
So I actually hope he won't renew his deal and we can sign somebody new who will hopefully work better alongside Martial and Rashford who I still see as the future of our attack.
Another great artwork from Momani:
They've been awful in his absence.
They both had ample opportunity to stake their claims during his ban and none of them stepped up to the plate.
If Rashford and Martial were up for it, they would produce irrespective of whether Zlatan is playing or not.
If he goes, we get Lukaku.
Simple.
Simple.
There's a huge question mark on Lukaku's ability to perform in a top side. His link up play is not exactly the best.
One way or the other, it will be fine for me. He's been important this season but also a reason why we dont perform well as a team. And if he leaves, I'm sure we will buy a good striker as well
Sorry I'm late replying to this, but of course, if we pay a lot of money for a player they'll come if there are no better options, but I'd imagine that for most of the top level players we're linked with, there will be other options. If United offer you £250k per week to 'try to break into the top 4', and Chelsea, PSG, Madrid, City, Juve, or any number of CL level teams offer you £200k per week to play with a team challenging for titles and the CL, you're surely going to think of your career.
Because he has a feeling we would score more without him. Don't blame people for having feelings.
Apparently, quite a few have this feeling. But it's funny that apart from having a feeling, no one can actually give any evidence based arguments.