Former Manchester United midfielder Clayton Blackmore has urged his old club to re-sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic next year.
Jose Mourinho lured the Swedish striker to Old Trafford from Paris Saint Germain on a free transfer back in 2016, and he helped the Red Devils win the Community Shield, Europa League and Carabao Cup during his first season at the club.
The 37-year-old hit 28 goals in the 2016-17 campaign, but a string of injuries disrupted his second year at the club, leading to his eventual departure for LA Galaxy in 2018.
Ibrahimovic has been a huge success in the MLS and recently stated he would be willing to return to Manchester if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was to make a play for his signature – as per Goal.
Ex-United star Blackmore, who played for the club between 1982 and 1994, has advised Solsjaer to bring a mercurial figure back to Old Trafford during the next transfer window.
He wrote on Twitter: “I definitely think we should ask Zlatan to come back, we need a target man – he’s the best target in the world.
“6ft 5in black belt, he’s proved in the MLS he can still do it.
I definitely think we should ask Zlatan to come back we need a target ? man he’s the best target ? in the world 6 foot 5 black belt he’s proved in the MLS he can still do it I thought we let him go because his knee was dodgy we’ve now given Zlatan and Rooney for nothing we won
— Clayton Blackmore (@cgblackmore) September 23, 2019
“I thought we let him go because his knee was dodgy – we’ve now given Zlatan and Rooney [away] for nothing.
“We won [the] Europa League, League Cup and Community Shield when he played for us.
Europa cup league cup and charity shield ? when he played for us 13 years ago the Barcelona goalie out run Zlatan he doesn’t run much yet he scores goals every club he plays for. We need a target man so all our kids with pace can play off him 4-4-2. ????? and close down quicker
— Clayton Blackmore (@cgblackmore) September 23, 2019
“Thirteen years ago, the Barcelona goalie out-run Zlatan – he doesn’t run much yet he scores goals [at] every club he plays for.
“We need a target man so all our kids with pace can play off him [in a] 4-4-2 [system], and close [them] down quicker.
“Here ends the lesson, it’s a no-brainer.”
At the moment, the Red Devils are majorly short on options going forward. Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez both joined Inter Milan over the summer, which left Solskjaer with only Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood to call upon.
Martial has been out of action since August through injury, while Rashford could be in for a similar spell on the sidelines after suffering a knock during a 2-0 defeat at West Ham on Sunday.
United have only picked up eight points from a possible 18 at the start of the new season, with a lack of potency up front the main issue for Solskjaer to address in the coming months.
Ibrahimovic would be an affordable solution for the Norwegian boss to consider, but any potential negotiations will have to wait until the market reopens again in January.
