It’s fair to say that Manchester United are experiencing some issues with the number nines who are currently available to Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford.
On their books, Man United have Rasmus Hojlund, Joshua Zirkzee and Chido Obi, a trio who aren’t currently befitting of the strikers who have played for the club in the past, as harsh as that may sound.
Hojlund is struggling at United and in truth, Zirkzee probably shouldn’t be considered as a number nine anyway – he’s better in a deeper role.
In terms of Obi, he is only 17-years-old and clearly has a ton of potential so it would be bizarre to blame him for any of Amorim’s issues up top, but it’s telling that the club have needed to turn to the youngster this season.
And perhaps Obi will still reach the heights of some of the great strikers that have graced United’s famous shirt in the past.
Andrea Pirlo lauds former Man United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic
All that being said, former Juventus star Andrea Pirlo has now inadvertently praised one former United striker who actually left the club back in 2018.
It caused big headlines when United landed the signing of 34-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2016, a striker with a world-class reputation.
READ MORE: The prediction Paul Pogba made about Anthony Martial at Manchester United which never came true
In total, Ibrahimovic played 53 games for United scoring 29 goals, winning a League Cup and Europa League medal with the club.
And when choosing between Ibrahimovic and some other famous strikers for IFTV recently, Pirlo actually declared that the former United striker was better than Luis Suarez.
Ibrahimovic eventually lost to Francesco Totti in Pirlo’s head-to-head, but he was also picked ahead of another former United striker Edinson Cavani, too.
| Question | Answer |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Gonzalo Higuain? | Zlatan Ibrahimovic |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Edinson Cavani? | Zlatan Ibrahimovic |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Mario Balotelli? | Zlatan Ibrahimovic |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Luis Suarez? | Zlatan Ibrahimovic |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Francesco Totti | Francesco Totti |
Zlatan Ibrahimovic said he just felt like a ‘number’ at Man United
In the past, Arsene Wenger wanted Arsenal to sign Ibrahimovic, one of the many nearly-signings he lived to regret in north London.
But it was ultimately United who the Swede represented in England, and when speaking to The Athletic last year, he shared some interesting comments about his time with the club.
Speaking about his two seasons with the club, Ibrahimovic said: “They were different from what I was used to.
“You’re just a number there, I felt. Then, in my mindset, I want to make my own history.
“I was not interested in what happened before, with all respect. Yes, that brings pressure to live up to what they were used to.
“But I was not interested in listening to the Class of ’92. That doesn’t help me because it’s not my team (that I support) and I wanted to do my own history.
“I wanted people to say, ‘You won and United won this together.’”
