Ibrahimovic: God of Manchester

After the 2016 European Championships, pundits began to speculate where star Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic would move. He had already announced that he would move away from French club Paris Saint-Germain after his contract expired. He proceeded to join Jose Mourinho at Manchester United on a two-year contract. The two had previously worked together at Italian club Inter Milan.

After arriving in England, the 35-year-old striker had has abilities questioned. There were many pundits that openly questioned whether or not Zlatan would maintain his level of play moving from England to France. Despite coming off a season in which he scored 50 goals for PSG, those pundits questioned whether he could replicate that success in the tougher English Premier League.

His presence in the Manchester United squad immediately made a positive impact. United goalkeeper David de Gea said early on that Ibrahimovic was impressive in training and led by example. Zlatan's character and winning mentality was a stark contrast to a Manchester United squad that underachieved under previous managers such as David Moyes and Louis van Gaal.

On the pitch, Zlatan produced from day one. He scored a spectacular overhead kick in a preseason against Turkish club Galatasaray. In the Community Shield against Leicester City, he overpowered defender Wes Morgan to head the ball past Kasper Schmeichel. Then in his Premier League debut, he squeezed a low-driven shot past AFC Bournemouth keeper Artur Boruc to seal a 3-0 win.

Thus far, Ibrahimovic has proven himself time and time again. Although other signings like Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan cost more, none have been as valuable as Zlatan. He is by far the leading goalscorer, with Juan Mata in second with seven scored. It is crucial that United keep Zlatan for a second year because his goal-scoring ability has kept United in contention for three trophies (League Cup, FA Cup and Europa League) as well as staying competitive for top four in the Premier League.