Bologna's Riccardo Bigon Says Club Are in Contact with Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Bologna sporting director Riccardo Bigon has confirmed Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been in contact with manager Sinisa Mihajlovic amid talk he could move to the Serie A club.

Mihajlovic, who worked as an assistant coach at Inter Milan during Ibrahimovic's first two years at the club, was diagnosed with leukaemia in July.

Bigon told Radio Anch'io Sport (h/t Football-Italia):

"Over the last few months, Ibra and Mihajlovic have been in touch, also because of a difficult period for Sinisa.

"They have been sharing opinions about the Swedish player's future, and he is the only one who will be able to decide where it lies.

"Over the next few months, we will get to know where his future lies, we still don't know where he will go.

"The idea of [him joining Bologna] is fascinating, the phone calls between the coach and Ibra are there, and if he wants to return to Italy, we're ready."

Bigon added that Bologna hope to qualify for European competition in the near future, which will require a "highly competitive squad."

Ibrahimovic is set to leave L.A. Galaxy after two years in Major League Soccer when his contract expires at the end of this year.

Galaxy's season came to an end in October when they lost to rivals Los Angeles FC 5-3 in the quarter-finals of MLS' playoffs.

Bologna director Walter Sabatini has confirmed the club have made an offer to the 38-year-old, per football journalist Fabrizio Romano:

Football writer Kaustubh Pandey would enjoy seeing him make the move:

Despite his age, the striker has remained a prolific goalscorer wherever he's gone.

He notched 22 goals and seven assists in 27 appearances in his debut season with the Galaxy, while in this campaign, he scored 31 times in as many games and offered eight assists.

The Swede has spent his career at some of Europe's top clubs, including Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United.

He's enjoyed several successful spells in Italy along the way at Juventus, Inter and AC Milan, so a return to Serie A might appeal.

Although Bologna are not the profile of club he typically moves to, his desire to help out Mihajlovic could aid them in their bid to land his signature.

The Rossoblu are 13th in Serie A after 11 games. Scoring goals has been less of a problem for them than conceding—they've netted 15 and shipped 17—but a match-winner like Ibrahimovic could take them into the top half.