Former Manchester United loanee Henrik Larsson has given his views on Zlatan Ibrahimovic joining the Old Trafford club.

Larsson believes his former Sweden strike partner is one of the best players in the world, and has the quality to take Manchester United back to “where it belongs” – at the top of the game.

Larsson joined United on loan in 2007 having already enjoyed a successful career at many of Europe’s top clubs. Similar to Zlatan, he too joined the club at a mature age, but believes age will not be an issue for Ibrahimovic.

“Zlatan is gigantic in Sweden,” Larsson told ManUtd.com.

“He is the number one. Everyone knows of him and everyone knows about him. There are going to be a lot of people interested to see him as well. I think everybody has seen him play but, for a man that big to have the technique he has and the skills he has, it’s a pleasure to watch. So I have to hope everything goes well now when he comes to Manchester United. Hopefully, he can bring United back to where it belongs.”

“I hope everything goes well because United deserves it and he deserves every good thing that is happening to him. He’s Sweden’s biggest footballer ever and to see him join United, yes, it was a pleasure.”

When asked whether Zlatan’s age could hinder his performances in the Premier League, Larsson dismissed the question, saying his fellow countryman is ‘fit’ and ‘takes care of himself.’

Hendrik was also quizzed about Jose Mourinho’s assertion that playing in England will be Ibrahimovic’s biggest challenge. The Swede agreed with Jose’s statement, saying the Premier League is the best league in the world.

“Yes, it is a huge challenge. It’s one of the best leagues, if not the best league in the world, and it has a lot of players with quality. So you need to perform week in and week out.”

“There are also the English cups to play in and you want to be able to do something in Europe as well so there are going to be a lot of games. But, as I said, he’s fit and he likes to train. You have got a great physical department at United as well so I’m sure everybody is going to make it happen in the best possible way for the club. What I remember of him, although it was a long time ago when we played, was that he used to train hard and train well. I expect he’s still doing that, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to play football at that level at that age.”

[All quotes via ManUtd.com]