Zlatan Ibrahimovic transfer to Manchester United on hold until PSG contract expires

The striker and his agent are in line to receive a lucrative loyalty bonus from the Paris club if he sees out his deal at the Parc de Princes

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Getty)

Manchester United are ready to allow Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Paris Saint-Germain contract to expire on June 30 before securing the forward on a free transfer next month.

Ibrahimovic, 34, is set to become Jose Mourinho’s first signing at Old Trafford after positive talks between United and the player’s representative, Mino Raiola.

But with both Ibrahimovic and Raiola due to receive a lucrative loyalty bonus from PSG should he see out his contract at the Parc des Princes, United are prepared to wait until the Sweden captain officially becomes a free agent before formalising a one-year deal, with the option of a further 12 months, worth £250,000-a-week.

Ibrahimovic, who scored 50 goals in 51 appearances for PSG last season, had been keen to have his club future resolved ahead of Sweden’s Euro 2016 opener against the Republic of Ireland in Paris on June 13.

But the former Juventus, Barcelona and Inter Milan player is now confident that a deal with United is in place and that the formalities will be signed off once his PSG deal expires later this month.

Mourinho worked with Ibrahimovic at Inter Milan (Getty)

Mourinho has identified the need for reinforcements down the spine of his team at United, with Ibrahimovic – who played under the Portuguese during his spell at Inter – seen as the solution to the club’s goalscoring problems and a player who will provide the experience required to accelerate the development of youngsters Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.

Eric Bailly, Villarreal’s Ivory Coast defender, is Mourinho’s favoured option at centre-half, while the new United manager remains determined to sign Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, twelve months after failing to engineer a deal to take the France international to Chelsea.