Not a king, nor a legend - Why Ibrahimovic must be a bit-part hero at Man Utd

Zlatan time is almost upon us.Four weeks on from the confirmation that one of the world’s most flamboyant footballing personalities had become a Manchester United player, Zlatan Ibrahimovic could make his debut against Galatasaray on Saturday. The venue of Gothenburg in his Swedish homeland is no coincidence. This game was made for him.

But after seeing Ibrahimovic in United colours for the first time, in familiar surroundings and backed by thousands of his own countrymen, attentions will immediately turn to the Premier League season ahead and people will question whether the striker can live up to his self-inflated billing.

Ibrahimovic has never been slow to talk up his own ability, but as he approaches the age of 35 he and United must account for a physical slowdown when judging just how big a part the Swede has to play in 2016-17.

While for many the difficulty of the Premier League is exaggerated, there can be little doubt that the faster, more frenetic and fiercely competitive nature of the English top-flight presents a very different type of challenge for any player experiencing the division for the first time. And for a 34-year-old, that only makes the transition from Ligue 1 life that much bigger a proposition to overcome.

Jose Mourinho has the luxury of a number of options. While for Louis van Gaal the numbers looked short in the forward line as United pursued Premier League and Champions League glory followed by Europa League and FA Cup success, the Portuguese is very clear that the league is his only priority.

As such, the opportunity to use the likes of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Wayne Rooney as a number nine without overly weakening the attacking midfield line behind the main striker is massively beneficial to Mourinho. The additions of Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan make all the difference to United in terms of extending their resources.

That depth increases the likelihood of Mourinho using Ibrahimovic sparingly. The majority of people drafting likely first-choice starting line-ups for United in the forthcoming season will have Zlatan fixed in as the regular central striker, but there are no guarantees that he will be able to reproduce the consistency he showed with Paris Saint-Germain any more than there is relating to his form.

In his last season at PSG he netted 50 goals in 51 games, but the heavier workload involved in Premier League football combined with the extra 12 months in his legs suggests that game-time will be harder to come by with United. The very fact Mourinho gave him an extended summer break speaks volumes about the realisation that Zlatan is not the Zlatan of years gone by.

“He was good enough for Ligue 1 but I really don’t think he can play 30 games next season, especially in England,” says Goal’s PSG correspondent Loic Tanzi. “Mourinho will have to manage him but it will not be easy as he wants to play every single game, even cup games.”