We need to talk about Zlatan

[IrishRedDevil]

Good impact sub to have and a fantastic personality to have in the dressing room.
He will be able to operate as a No.10 behind Lukaku, as long as we surround him with pace either side;

................Lukaku
Martial .. Ibrahimovic .. Rashford

Also we need to remember that this is Lukaku's first season playing mid-week games regularly, so he will need a rest along the way. Ibrahimovic is a brilliant rotation option to have.

 

[whatwha]

Not a huge fan of signing him back up tbh. Hope he gets used sparingly, only when Lukaku needs a rest.

 

[Zlatattack]

Lukaku looked tired against Palace. He also has form for going off the boil a bit during seasons. Having some real competition for his place will keep him refreshed (rotation) and motivated.

 

[Unmutual]

Still can't make up my mind on Ibra coming back. You look at Lukau and how his pace up front has helped our other attackers to thrive, and you have to wonder if using Ibra will be counter productive.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Might be the signing that allows all 3 of Martial, Lukaku and Rashford to start together. That way we'll always have a gamechanger on the bench.

 

[el3mel]

As a backup striker for us, rotating with Lukaku when the fixtures list goes mad like last season. We can't afford to have a full season with one experienced and consistent goal scorer striker. He'll play a role similar to Drogba in Mourinho's last title winning season.

 

[Raoul]

There are always injuries and suspensions so obviously there will be periods where Zlatan will be picked out of necessity, either as a 9 or a 10. But if everyone is fit does he get into this team, and if so, where?

Will he step in for occasional fixtures so Lukaku can be rested? I cant really see it to be honest – though it does seem the most rational solution to me at least. Mourinho has shown he generally picks his best players when they are available, he never rested Zlatan last year even in cup games when we were playing markedly inferior opposition. Though with Zlatan and Lukaku as his striking options perhaps he will feel more confident to rotate a bit.

Or are we looking at him being used principally as an impact-sub to come on and change games? Will this get the best out of him?

If he is going to force his way into the starting XI, clearly it wont be at the expense of Lukaku. So is he likely to be challenging for that 10 role? Pulling the strings while surrounded by faster players moving all around him?

Does anyone worry at all that Zlatan's return is going to upset the dynamic of the squad a little? Its obviously ridiculously simplistic to say he is the reason the team didnt score enough goals last season but it is striking that with a different kind of striker we have looked a lot more potent and are sharing the goals around a lot more. There has to be a nagging worry that if he comes back in, he will pick up his fair share of goals but as a whole the team will look more disjointed? Again, Im not saying this is going to happen, but there is this nagging worry in the back of my mind.

I guess my questions are:

Where is he going to play?
How often is he going to play?
And will we look better with him in the team?

He will be a massive breath of fresh air as the season grinds on and Lukaku begins to fade a bit. He's essential for us to maintain a big squad for the inevitable issues that arise with injuries, suspensions, loss of form etc.

 

[unitedforeveral]

Zlatan has always been a demanding player but i'm pretty sure he will listen to the gaffer this time around because it is Jose. He's a huge fan of Jose and believes they have the same intentions when it comes to winning championships. Therefore i believe it is the situation that will tender the exact solution. There is no necessity for us to imagine. I think Jose is doing the same, just take the flow. If in January we have Lukaku with over 20-25 goals, then he by definition would still make the starting line-up but if we needed a shake-up, we might try Zlatan.

Since we will have both home and away legs from round of 16, i think we can use Zlatan for the away games. He has more experience (if there is any doubt, see how PSG faltered after Zlatan left). So i think we need both and if there comes a situation where we might need both, we go back to the SAF era and play 4-4-2!

 

[el3mel]

Imagine us playing like that :

Matic
Fellaini - Pogba
Mikhi
Lukaku - Zlatan​

Long balls FC. This lineup will drive Klopp mad.

 

[Yogesh911]

Zlatan can potentially win us the league. For example, if Moratta goes off the boil , Chelsea would be suffering. I think Zlatan will be used wisely by Jose. Small teams that come & defend against us with 10 men, what good is Mkhi's pace if they all camp around their box. Imagine then having to deal with 2 mega forwards in the box & with Zlatan's technical ability, we'll definitely not drop those silly points.

SAF won leagues for fun with nice big squads & 3 if not 4 strikers in the roster. United is really blessed that Zlatan chose to continue here as I think we'll definitely need him as the games come thick & fast. If his level is close to anything it was last year, it'll be season-defining. Remember, he came to a struggling team last year & Jose didnt know the squad as well. He'll come to a more functional confident team & he'll only improve us, considering he keeps his form.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

I think he will rotate with Lukaku. We need to keep Lukaku fresh for champions league games in the second half of the season. Playing bottom half teams should suit Zlatan very well so I would play him in those games mainly.