Zlatan Ibrahimovic pictured training with Manchester United for first time

The Swedish striker joined on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain

Mark Critchley
Thursday 28 July 2016 08:56 EDT
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic's first Manchester United training session (Video credit: MUTV).mp4

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic has arrived at Carrington, Manchester United’s training ground, for his first session since joining the club.

The Swedish striker arrived on a free transfer earlier this month following the expiration of his contract at Paris Saint-Germain.

Ibrahimovic did not travel with Jose Mourinho’s squad on their ill-fated pre-season tour of China, having been granted an extended period of rest by his new manager.

The 34-year-old’s first day of work was celebrated by United’s official Twitter account, which posted a video of him on the training pitch with teammates Ashley Young and Marcus Rashford.

The tweet's caption read: “The big man is here - it's #ZlatanTime!”

Mourinho, who was appointed as the club’s new manager in May, is expected to use Ibrahimovic as his first-choice striker in a system with a lone frontman.

The Portuguese has, however, also suggested that he could pair the former Internazionale, Juventus and Barcelona player with Rashford, who broke into United’s first team last season at the age of 18-years-old.

"34 is his [Ibrahimovic's] age, plus 18, Marcus Rashford's age. 34 plus 18 divided by two is the perfect age for a football player," he said earlier this month.

"So our two strikers are exactly in the perfect age because 18 is not a perfect age, 34 is not, but they are.

"I think they can be an amazing complement for each other," Mourinho added.

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