Reports: Manchester United set to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic with £88 million-rated striker 

Zlatan to be replaced?

What's the story?

Romelu Lukaku had a fine start to his Manchester United career. He was on the scoresheet week-in-week-out but as the season progressed, the Belgian striker became less lethal. Goals stopped pouring in from the player and the Reds found it difficult to kill games.

With the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, people thought things would change. But it didn't. He may have recovered from the ACL injury but he has found it difficult to cope up due to a knee injury. He has made just 5 league appearances and has failed to score in any of those games.

Even pairing the Belgian and the Swedish international didn't help the cause. Jose Mourinho is now reportedly in the market looking for a lethal striker that can score and has started to prepare for a life without Zlatan.

And according to the Metro, Andrea Belotti sits at the top of the Reds' shortlist of candidates to replace the 36-year-old.

In case you didn't know...

Apart from United, Chelsea have also been linked with a move for the Italian player. He joined Torino in the summer of 2015 for a fee of €7.5 million. In his last 2 season in Italy, he has scored 36 and 38 goals, in all competitions, respectively.

The heart of the matter

Zlatan recovered from his ACL injury and started playing for the Reds in November. But he has recently been struggling with a knee injury. The 36-year-old has not been able to find his old form back which has caused United to reconsider his future.

The 36-year-old, who moved to the Old Trafford on a free transfer in 2016, signed a new 1-year contract with the club which expires at the end of this season.

The Reds are not considering giving him a new contract and are looking for his replacement. They have allegedly identified Bellotti as an ideal candidate. However, they are not going to find it easy with his staggering £88 million release clause.

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Author's take

Andrea Belotti will undoubtedly be a good addition for the Reds. The 24-year-old is good when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net, and will undeniably be an asset for Mourinho.

However, this season, he has had a dip in his form. In 15 appearances, he has scored just 4 goals - Something the Reds might want to consider before paying his exorbitant release clause.