Former Manchester United full-back Gary Neville has admitted that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is "carrying" the team at the moment.
The 35-year-old has scored more goals, created more chances and played more minutes than any other United player so far this season, most recently hitting a match-winning brace to fire his side to EFL Cup glory on Sunday.
Those two goals took his tally for the campaign to 26, and Neville expressed concern at how the team would fare should Ibrahimovic leave at the end of the season.
"He has to play every game at the moment. I've seen it over the years at United, they need players that have huge personality and character. You think of Bryan Robson or Roy Keane or Cristiano Ronaldo, even Wayne Rooney from three or four years ago when he was playing every single week," he told Sky Sports News.
"You look at Paul Pogba, who I don't think is playing particularly well, who has got a big personality, but I think of Ibrahimovic and Rooney leaving potentially in the next 18 months, and there's a huge void there to fill. Ibrahimovic is definitely carrying them at the moment. The other players on his team will look at him in the tunnel and they'll just feel confident by him being there.
"Over the last three years, United have lacked personality and character. In him they've got someone who believes and does everything he says he's going to do. Jose Mourinho needs to look at how he replaces that personality and that character at some point in the next 18 months because he's unbelievable at what he's doing at that club at the moment."
Ibrahimovic has now scored seven goals in his last six games for United.
Barney Corkhill
