Next stop, Premier League? Zlatan Ibrahimovic set to join Manchester United, say reports

If reports are to be believed, mercenary striker extraordinaire Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to join Manchester United, becoming  manager-to-be Jose Mourinho’s first signing. Rumours of the prolific 34-year-old forward donning the famous Red Devils’ kit are rife and Manchester United fans are relishing at the prospect of having the Swede at the club. [caption id=“attachment_2796208” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Zlatan Ibrahimovic. AP[/caption] According to a report in Daily Mirror, Ibrahimovic, now a free agent after four record-breaking seasons at PSG, will become Mourinho’s first signing at Old Trafford on a one-year contract, with an option to extend it by one more year. The move is expected to be official in the next 48 hours. Another report in the Independent states that the forward will have an option to become assistant coach after the end of his playing career. Mourinho himself is waiting to be announced as the fourth manager of Manchester United after Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013. He is also said to have already prepared a list of transfer targets for his new club which, apart from Ibrahimovic, also includes Everton centre-back John Stones, who the Portuguese had courted during his tenure as Chelsea manager before he was sacked after a poor start to the Premier League defence in 2015. Ibrahimovic and Mourinho enjoy a good relationship from their days at Inter Milan and have often publicly spoken of their mutual admiration. Ibrahimovic has also been linked heavily to join the MLS and former club AC Milan , but for a forward known for winning titles across several major leagues in Europe and scoring prolifically at all places, the Swede is yet to ply his trade in the biggest league of them all, the Premier League. The striker has big European clubs like Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan and PSG on his CV, and he has won league titles at all these clubs. And he is yet to show signs of ageing and just enjoyed a record-breaking goal-scoring spree in the recently concluded Ligue 1 season for PSG, scoring a club-record 38 goals. Ibrahimovic notched up 50 goals in all competitions for the Parisian club in the 2015-16 season. His four years at PSG have brought an astounding 156 goals and Manchester United would hope the charismatic forward repeats his success in England as well.