McTominay hails Ibrahimovic’s impact on his development

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Manchester United have been drawn against their former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the Europa League.

The Swede is an injury doubt for the first leg but will hope to be fit for the return at San Siro at the very least.

Ibrahimovic was at Old Trafford when Scott McTominay was breaking through during Jose Mourinho’s reign.

As per the club’s official website, McTominay has hailed the impact of the towering striker on his development.

“[He was] ruthless. I’m not going to say too much more than that,” he said of Ibrahimovic. “Good professional, worked hard, big, big presence in the dressing room in terms of his voice and the way that he is with people.

“He’s a ruthless guy in terms of the way he wants to win 24/7, if you’re not on the same page as him, then you won’t succeed under him, he’ll make life hard for you, so you’d better work hard at winning.

“Otherwise it’ll be a tough time for you. I love guys like that in football. He’s obviously had a legendary career which is a real credit to him, and obviously to his family as well, so I have nothing but big praise for him.

“He’s a tough guy to be around sometimes, but that’s the positive – I can be [tough to be around] as well.“

When Ibrahimovic came to United, everyone knew it wouldn’t be for a long time.

But part of the appeal was the impact Ibrahimovic could have on the younger players at the club.

The obvious beneficiaries were young forwards Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford but it’s clear McTominay took something from the Swede in terms of his mentality and competitiveness.

That’s evident in McTominay’s game now, which he will hope can help ensure Ibrahimovic doesn’t come back to haunt United.

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