Why Everton have missed a trick by not signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic

According to Sky Sports, AC Milan have confirmed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic has rejoined the club on a free transfer until the end of the season.

Ibrahimovic, 38, has been a free agent since leaving LA Galaxy at the end of the Major Soccer League season and was linked with a move to several teams ahead of January. Among them, Everton were also one of the teams to be interested in the former Manchester United man.

Earlier this month, The Express claimed that the Toffees were plotting a shock move for Ibrahimovic as the club’s chief targeted a new striker to bolster their attack. And in the process, they also contacted his agent Mino Raiola over a surprise January move for the Swede.

Everton endured one of their worst start in the Premier League this season and were close to the relegation zone. As a result of that, Marco Silva was sacked from the job and Duncan Ferguson was appointed as the interim head of the club, while the search for a permanent manager went on.

Eventually, the English outfit appointed Carlo Ancelotti to take over the reins in a four-and-a-half-year deal. Therefore, it was a good chance to sign Ibrahimovic as he had already worked with the Italian.

Ancelotti has four centre-forwards available at his disposal in Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Moise Kean, Cenk Tosun, and Oumar Niasse as they enter into the second half of the league season.

Calvert-Lewin has been a regular this term and has scored 6 goals so far, the same number as Richarlison. Kean has made just two starts and is yet to settle into the team, whereas Tosun and Niasse have been confined to the bench for the majority of the season.

The Toffees have managed to score just 23 goals in 20 league games, which is too low for a team aiming to finish in the upper half of the table. Their forwards have struggled to bang in the goals at regular intervals and as a result, they are 10^th in the league standings.

In that case, Ibrahimovic would have been an absolute target man to get the required number of goals. Despite his age, the former Sweden international scored 29 goals in 30 MLS games in the recently concluded season.

The 38-year-old has a proven track record and he has been at the centre of several title-winning campaigns for a lot of clubs.

Read more

• Why signing Egan would help Everton sort out their issues in defence
• Why Everton must plot a January swoop for Rafael Borre
• Why Everton should go all out to sign Baptiste Santamaria

Verdict

Everton should have not waited longer for Ibrahimovic and must have launched a bid immediately after they appointed Ancelotti. Their combination could have worked wonders for the club and its fans.

Therefore, they missed the trick by not signing the veteran and will have to wait for the right time to buy a new striker.