What’s the story?
According to the Daily Mirror, Manchester United’s Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic wants a two-year extension to his current contract. The enigmatic Swede is willing to commit his future to United for another two years despite being 35-years-old currently.
Initial reports suggested that he was looking to leave United seeing as the club might fail to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season. However, it is now believed that he wants to stay with the Old Trafford outfit despite this.
In case you didn’t know...
Ibrahimovic joined Manchester United in the summer of 2016 on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain after he smashed in an astounding 50 goals in 51 games for the Parisian club. The towering Swede has gone on to score 26 goals for United this season and is the Red Devils’ highest scorer this campaign. He was also instrumental in United’s EFL Cup final victory last month.
The heart of the matter
Ibrahimovic is yet to activate the clause in his contract that would see him extend his stay by another year. But according to reports, he is holding out for a longer extension that could see him stay at Manchester United for another two seasons.
Also read: Where do Manchester United need to strengthen?
Sources claim that Ibrahimovic is ‘loving life at United’ to the extent that his representatives are trying to negotiate a longer stay for him at Old Trafford. According to the reports, the Swede is pushing for a similar contract to the one he was offered last summer when he joined United, i.e. a one-year contract with an option to extend it by another year.
What's next?
The striker is refusing to comment on his immediate future at the moment, but should Jose Mourinho and the United board see fit, they could meet his demands and offer him a new deal that would keep him at the club for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, United could also sign a replacement for Ibrahimovic and are rumoured to be in the market for his successor.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Although Ibrahimovic is 35-years-old, he could prove to be a vital player for United in the coming seasons given his experience and goal scoring ability. Regardless of whether the Red Devils sign another striker in the summer or not, they should look to keep Ibrahimovic in the squad.
He has single-handedly provided the required output in terms of goals for Manchester United this season while the rest of the side’s attack has failed. Letting him go would be a mistake on the part of Mourinho seeing as he still wants to stay at the club and has shown that he still has what it takes to perform at the highest level.
