Zlatan Ibrahimovic Reportedly Wants 2-Year Manchester United Deal Amid Rumours

Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic reportedly is eager to commit himself to two more years at Old Trafford following his brilliant opening period at the club.

According to David Anderson and John Cross in the Mirror, the one-year deal the Swedish forward signed in July had an option for another year, but the 35-year-old's "advisers are trying to drive a hard bargain, pushing for a better deal and an extra 12 months on top of the one-year option." 

Ibrahimovic has been brilliant in his debut season at United following his free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. He has netted 26 goals in all competitions, including a late winner on Sunday against Southampton as the Red Devils won the EFL Cup, per WhoScored.com.

There were many who doubted whether Ibrahimovic would be able to reproduce his best in the challenging environment of the Premier League.

The Times' columnist Tony Cascarino, among others, suggested at the start of the season he would struggle to score 20 goals in 2016-17—citing the fact he had been playing in Ligue 1 for the past four years—and speculated whether United would regret signing him.

However, aside from a relatively barren September and October, the former Ajax, AC Milan and Barcelona forward has been consistently excellent and regularly netted key goals for Jose Mourinho's side.

Per the Manchester Evening News' Samuel Luckhurst, his stats this season compare favourably with those of Cristiano Ronaldo when he was at United:

"

Another flattering Ibrahimovic stat: he has as many goals as Ronaldo finished on in his last #mufc season. Ronaldo was 24-years-old.

— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) March 1, 2017"

Ibrahimovic is in the latter stages of his career, but his age seems to be having little effect on his sharpness in front of goal and ability to impact games.

United will surely be willing to offer him another year on top of his current terms as he has eclipsed many people's expectations.

And not only is he scoring goals regularly, he also does not seem to tire—only goalkeeper David De Gea has played more minutes than the Swede in the Premier League for United this season, per WhoScored. 

Ibrahimovic shows no signs of slowing down and could surely remain a key asset for United were he to sign on to 2019.