Zlatan Ibrahimovic is Manchester United’s man-of-the-moment after his brace against West Brom.
The Swede has proved his doubters wrong by adapting superbly to English football, his double against the Baggies his 15th and 16th goals of the season in all competitions.
Now, he is backing compatriot Victor Lindelof to shine if he joins United as expected in January.
The Benfica defender is already attracting comparisons with Rio Ferdinand, and the Red Devils are thought to be speaking with the Portuguese club over a £38million deal to make him their most expensive defender of all time.
Ibra said of the 22-year-old, via the Daily Mail:
“He (Lindelof) is growing. He has a lot of responsibility with the national team now.
“Is he good enough for United? I think he is ready for the big clubs out there. It is up to him what he wants and what the situation says. Whatever he chooses, it will be good for him.
“I know he is hot on the market so let him make the right choice for him.”
While United are in good form with three league wins in a row, Jose Mourinho still has concerns over the strength-in-depth of his defence and has even reportedly considered bringing Cameron Borthwick-Jackson back from his loan spell at Wolves.
At centre-back, he also has worries, as not only has Eric Bailly’s been heavily interrupted by injuries, if he’s fit in January, he’ll be off to the African Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast.
Chris Smalling has also spent time in the treatment room, which has left the sub-par pairing of Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo at the back.
United need more quality if they’re going to compete for the Champions League places in the second half of the season, so Lindelof would be under huge pressure to perform.
Ibrahimovic obviously knows him well from the national team, and he knows exactly what it’s like for a player to have to prove himself in England – so Mourinho may well want to listen to him on this one.
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