Mrsnowgy Sport: Ibrahimovic’s influence will not just be felt on the pitch

Mid-August and two high-profile fixtures into his latest career move, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has already demonstrated just what he can offer Manchester United. A player who can drift in and out of games, going barely noticed in the Community Shield and not even managing a touch in Bournemouth’s penalty area through the first half on Sunday, can now point to a winner at Wembley and a 25-yard skimmer that even coaxed José Mourinho into manic celebration as rewards from a first week of his competitive United career. The Swede retains that stardust. The strut and air of authority will never leave him, with this a player whose timing is rarely off. But Mourinho was more anxious to point to another by-product of his summer move from Paris Saint-Germain as more cause for optimism. “Look, the first thing I can tell you is that, at his table for breakfast and for meals, he is surrounded by the young ones, the kids,” said the Portuguese. “Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford … these are the guys who are with him at the table. He knows what he can be for them. But, for the team, you have to forget the passport, that he is 34 years old. The body and mentality are not those of a 34-year-old guy. He’s at the top of his qualities.”

That bodes well, but Ibrahimovic’s contribution was not the only positive from this success. Throw in, too, the performance of Eric Bailly at centre-half and, if these standards are maintained, then United have secured a bargain even at £30m from Villarreal. “When you buy somebody like him you always have a question mark over how a personality adapts to a completely different situation before,” said Mourinho. “Playing in Spain is different than England. Life at Villarreal is different to life at Manchester United. Playing for a team aiming for fifth or sixth is different to trying to win it. But he’s showing big personality which is incredible. “He was injured against Leicester in the Community Shield and said nothing but played 90 minutes. He couldn’t train this week after that, and trained for the first time yesterday with the team. He’d had the problem all week. He did amazing work with the physio and fitness coaches. He showed his qualities.” Add Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and this transfer window already looks gloriously productive.The boys are already talking about him. When he scored on Sunday, look at his celebration and those that celebrated with him.