Why Manchester United need to extend Ibrahimovic's Old Trafford stay

Manchester United were poor defensively, the midfield didn’t function in the first half, but they still won the EFL Cup final. Often goalscorers win man of the match awards almost by default, because it’s the easy option, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic fully deserved his in Sunday’s victory over Southampton. He was the reason United won the game, almost by dint of his finishing alone. 

His two goals showcased his range of talents: a magnificently inevitable free-kick midway through the first half, followed by a close-range header late on. He can score the difficult goals, the long-range strikes, the efforts of acrobatic athleticism, but he also has a predatory instinct. His career tally is now at 480 in 831 games, but what’s most extraordinary is that 224 have come since he turned 30. Obviously joining Paris St-Germain helps, but that is still a stunning achievement. 

Nobody, surely, can have expected this season to go quite as well as it has. It was clear that Ibrahimovic was in exceptional shape for a 35-year-old even before the reports came in from pre-season training suggest that he wasn’t just holding his own in physical tests but was leading the rest of the squad. He looked exhausted by the end on Sunday, but then he had every reason to, having essentially carried an underperforming United to success. He had, as well, played four games in 11 days, one off the bench, in which he scored six goals. A certain fatigue is only natural. 

Mourinho, in one of his strangely deadpan post-final moods, insisted he didn’t deserve the credit for having faith in Ibrahimovic. He knew the player, he said, from their one season together at Internazionale in the 2008/09 Serie A campaign and that was enough to give him belief that he would be a success. 

“I was his manager,” he said. “I know the potential and only a silly player comes to England at 35 years old and with a successful career like Zlatan has if he doesn’t feel he can do it. Who better to know than him? Not me, not you, him. When he decides at 35 to take the challenge of coming to a country like England and club like Manchester United, he must be ready.” 

No player in the Premier League has had more shots per game than Ibrahimovic this season at 4.3. That perhaps hints at a slight wastefulness and if there is a criticism of Ibrahimovic this season it is that. He may have scored 26 times, but he has missed a lot of chances as well, five more clear-cut goalscoring chances (13) than any other Premier League player, but that is a very minor quibble if it is a criticism at all. Part of the skill of a striker is to create shooting opportunities and Ibrahimovic attempts the spectacular and the difficult: 1.3 of those 4.3 shots per game are taken from outside the box. Three of his 15 league goals have been from outside the box. 

The other criticism of him would be that he’s caught offside more than any other player in the Premier League at 1.5 times per game, but that, again, is part of his aptitude for creating goalscoring chances. He also wins 3.0 aerial duels per game, the 11th-highest figure in the league for a forward. 

Ibrahimovic’s contract expires in the summer, but Mourinho is confident he will stay one more year. “I never beg for a player to sign a contract,” he said. “I never beg for a player to play for me. One day Zlatan decided to go to Barcelona. I was very sad but I did nothing to try to stop him going. I don’t beg players. But if needed I think maybe United mans can go to the door of his house and stay there
all night. If needed… We believe he is going to stay with us one more season.” 

On this form, United need him.