With all the ballyhoo surrounding Romelu Lukaku, the newly minted Manchester United striker, the man he’s replacing has gone a bit forgotten. Or at the very least it’s been very overshadowed. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, out of contract at United and rehabbing a torn ACL, still has not decided where he will play next season, but he has a lot of time to decide on his destination, as he won’t be ready to play again until early 2018.
Ibrahimovic has been linked to several clubs in a few different countries, but in the meantime he’ll be rehabbing at United’s Carrington training ground.
As Lukaku takes over Ibra’s position on the pitch at Old Trafford, the larger-than-life personality having Swede gave the Belgian his blessing to wear his #9 shirt.
Lukaku said (via ESPN FC): “I always asked my mother what number, and I used to play with the 10 because my mother’s birthday is on Oct. 10, so it’s the 10th month of the year.
“That’s why I played with No. 10. I asked for the number nine because I’m a striker.
“Strikers play with No. 9. It’s a nice number, and I asked the permission of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I want to thank him, as well, for allowing me to wear that number.”
Ibrahimovic was far and away United’s leading scorer last season, and truly the team’s only legitimate, consistent scoring threat. So Lukaku does have some very big shoes to fill, but you know that he’s up to the task. Last season he finished second in scoring (runner-up for the Golden boot) in the English Premier League.
The exclusive that Lukaku gave to ESPN FC covers a very wide array of topics, including how he will go about replacing Zlatan Ibrahimovic. It’s a very good read.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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