Manchester United were very active in the market last summer, bringing in Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Paul Pogba, Eric Bailly and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the first set of arrivals for the Red Devils under the tenure of Jose Mourinho.
The quartet proved to be a great asset for Manchester United, helping to win the League Cup and Europa League, but an untimely injury to Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the back-end of the campaign saw the Swedish striker braced for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Ibrahimovic initially penned a one-year deal at Old Trafford after arriving on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain and the club had the option to extend the veteran striker’s deal by a further year, which they planned to do this summer.
However, Ibrahimovic’s injury is set to keep the striker away from action for the majority of this season and the BBC now reports Manchester United will not extend the Swedish striker’s contract- which leaves a big hole for Mourinho to fill.
Ibrahimovic’s current deal expires at the end of June and the 35-year-old is set to become a free agent later today, when Premier League clubs announce their retained and released players for the forthcoming campaign.
Ibrahimovic will join a number of high-profile players available for a free transfer, including John Terry, Gael Clichy and Willy Caballero, but the rest of the released list are likely to feature fringe players- whereas Manchester United will lose a key-figure in their side.
Having scored 28 goals in 46 appearances across all competitions this season, Manchester United face a major test to sign a striker that’s capable of achieving similar numbers and the club have already endured disappointment on the transfer front, with Antoine Griezmann confirming he will stay at Atletico Madrid for at least another year.
Manchester United’s short-list is said to include the likes of Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata and Torino ace Andrea Belotti but there would be question marks as to whether both of those players could be the star that the Red Devils need them to be.
Fortunately, Manchester United still boast the talents of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, who can both play centrally, so the pressure for them to do business is somewhat eased- although fans are crying out for a big name.
Manchester United knew Ibrahimovic was never going to be a long-term solution to their attacking line but losing him this summer is a major blow, particularly as it seems the club have not yet found the ideal replacement.