You could be forgiven for thinking that Zlatan Ibrahimovic had already left Manchester United.
Having been drafted in last season on a free transfer, the Swedish striker managed to extend his impressive record of scoring goals wherever he went; 28 in 46 appearances not terrible for a 36-year-old.
With the arrival of Romelu Lukaku last summer however, Ibrahimovic's opportunities have been few and far between. Officially re-signed by the club after suffering what had appeared a career-ending injury at the tail end of last season, the former PSG, AC Milan and Barcelona man has only played seven times this time around.
Initially thought to be one of Jose Mourinho's "men" in a potentially tetchy United squad, only five of those seven games have been in the Premier League; the last of those coming against Burnley on December 26th.
According to another of Mourinho's less-favoured former players, the Swede has fallen foul of the capricious Portuguese:
I have information that Ibrahimovic is not injured, he's just cold with Mourinho right now.
The source of this information? Former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu, of course.
Having joined the newly-rich Chelsea before Mourinho joined in 2004, the Romanian's tenure under the Portuguese was far from a happy one.
Clashing over the severity of an injury Mutu claimed to have sustained while on international duty with Romania, the player was swiftly moved on and joined Juventus - the source of his friendship (and this disclosure) with teammate Ibrahimovic.
Speaking to Telekom Sport Romania, Mutu accused Mourinho of not "caring about the performance, only the result."
Suggesting that the Swede has been callously forced out by the United manager and has no particular desire to leave the club, Mourinho has offered stories to the contrary:
For Zlatan, we all think it’s his last season at Manchester United and it will be a very personal decision for him to play or to stop.
37-years-old shortly after the start of next season, Ibrahimovic may struggle to find himself in a United shirt again.
