Zlatan vs. Lukaku: Who Would Man United Fans Like to Lead the Line Next Term?

Manchester United fans endured a goalless draw at Old Trafford on Saturday, as they failed to score in the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede is popular with match-going Red Devils, as evidenced by how often his chant breaks out.

And no wonder. He has 26 goals in 44 appearances for United, including the winner in the League Cup final. The team is set up to feed him chances, and that has worked for much of the season.

However, when offered a straight choice between Ibrahimovic and the man who will be leading the line for United's opponents on Tuesday, Everton's Romelu Lukaku, the results were surprising and instructive.

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[Poll] Who would you rather have leading the line for United next season? Feel free to reply with why!

— Paul (@UtdRantcast) March 30, 2017"

With over 3,000 votes cast, Lukaku proved a more popular choice than Ibrahimovic with 58 per cent of the vote to Zlatan's 42.

So, why did so many fans choose to vote for the Toffeeman over a player already plying his trade at Old Trafford?

Firstly, while their goalless draw on Saturday happened without Ibrahimovic, there have been plenty of games in which he has featured that have been just as frustrating. Indeed, saying that it has worked for much of the season is only partly true. The months spent in sixth place evidence that.

United have typically created more chances than they did against West Bromwich Albion this season, but Ibrahimovic has been quite profligate. Indeed, his 15 league goals come from a total of 109 shots. Compare that to Lukaku's 21 goals from 80 shots and the Belgian's appeal starts to make itself clear.

This is probably a fair point. Whether or not Lukaku would have done better with the same chances is, of course, open to debate, but his numbers are consistently impressive.

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@waynefarry @UtdRantcast Plus he rarely gets injured. Prem League appearances by season:

35 games
31
36
37
28 games so far

— Jake Gallagher (@MatchoftheDave) March 30, 2017"

Ibrahimovic's injury record is pretty spectacular in itself, but the most obvious point of comparison between the two is, of course, which end of their careers they are at.

The current United man may still be in excellent physical shape, but his career is clearly winding down, and United boss Jose Mourinho's strategy of playing him for almost every minute of football for which he is available looked like it was starting to tell before his recent suspension.

His performance against Bournemouth at Old Trafford, for example, saw him look tired. Lukaku, on the other hand, is emerging into his peak.

Ibrahimovic is already special, of course. And he is strong. But the issue of mobility is an important one.

Mourinho's best teams have often had a tough, battling but mobile central striker.

This is best embodied by Didier Drogba, that icon of Mourinho's first Chelsea side. His success in his second spell came after the arrival of Diego Costa to fulfil the same role.

Ibrahimovic has similar tactical importance to United as they are set up, but his lack of ability to break onto through balls during a counter-attack without being caught up by defenders has been a problem. His incredible football intelligence has meant he has been able to time his runs and make space for himself in spite of this weakness, but there is a compromise to his presence.

And, as was pointed out, he has a significant tendency to drop deep looking for the ball, and there have been plenty of occasions when this has meant too few numbers in the opposition box.

Timeliness was clearly a factor in some people's voting decisions. This is a subject that has haunted United recently in terms of managerial availability, with compromise candidates being selected in the wake of Sir Alex Ferguson's departure. The notion of "buy now or miss out later" may well have played on the minds of those voting.

Of course, Ibrahimovic attracted plenty of support, too.

The Swede has been at his best this season in the highest-pressure moments. The Wembley cup final was a fine example of this. His career is a testament to his ability to deliver title-winning performance after title-winning performance down the stretch. How else would he have been able to amass the ridiculous silverware collection he has?

There is an accusation about Lukaku that he is something of a flat-track bully. This season, he has three goals against top-six clubs, but two of those came against Manchester City in games where Pep Guardiola's side were miles from their best.

As was pointed out, though, United could have done with a flat-track bully this season. Turning home draws against teams they could reasonably be expected to beat into wins would have been the difference between their current position and comfortable Champions League qualification.

Of course, sometimes the heart just wants what it wants.

Speaking of which, one of the most popular write-in responses was that United fans would not want either leading the line because already at the club are two huge talents who could yet thrive in the No. 9 position.

Some people called for another year of Ibrahimovic to allow Marcus Rashford to continue his development.

Others advocated for a more immediate switch.

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@UtdRantcast Rashford and Martial!

— despicable (@tgirishkumar) March 30, 2017"

In truth, the presence of Anthony Martial and Rashford is the best possible argument against signing Lukaku. Ibrahimovic's presence has been problematic enough to their development, particularly in terms of minutes at centre-forward.

If Lukaku arrives, it is a clear message to Rashford in particular that he is not in the mix to be first-choice striker for a long time to come.

Mourinho's history, though, suggests that Lukaku fits his centre-forward template better, both in terms of body type and the fact that he is now battle-hardened, proven and experienced in the top flight.

If that is Mourinho's preference, this poll would suggest the move would be a pretty popular one.

Advanced data per WhoScored.com.