Desailly lauds Ibrahimovic amid United reports

Marcel Desailly thinks Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goalscoring record suggests he would be a success with Manchester United in the Premier League.

After four years with Paris Saint-Germain in which he became the highest-scoring player in the club’s history, Ibrahimovic will be on the move ahead next season.

Having already won league titles in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France, the Sweden international has been heavily linked to a reunion with recently appointed United manager Jose Mourinho, his former coach at Inter.

Desailly thinks the amount of success Ibrahimovic has enjoyed across Europe would stand him in good stead at Old Trafford.

“It’s hard, it’s England, but when you look at the statistics for him, in every single country he’s been successful,” he told Omnisport.

“Is he going to bring the luck for the first year of Manchester United under Mourinho?

“I’m happy to see what he has done for French football, brought the interest and raised the levels of consideration of footballers and football.

“Now in France people understand football is a big business and you need to respect it’s a real job, through Zlatan’s behaviour and interest in the broadcasts.”

The former Chelsea defender is looking forward to seeing how Mourinho bounces back at United following his sacking from Chelsea in December.

“I’m just happy he’s coaching again, this is important. When someone gets sacked I feel pain because he’s losing his job,” Desailly said.

“What is good to see is how he fell and how he is going to come up. Is he going to be different? Did he learn from the media interview that he made when he was really under pressure?

“He’s now at peace, he had time to think, to see what’s going on in football and what is the new objective of United.

“Is he there for a long run? It looks like yes, so if you want to be in a long run at a club you have to adapt to the philosophy and history of the club. It’s not an easy thing and I’m really curious to see that.”