25/08/2017 22:30, Report by Matt Bullin

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has dropped a selection hint ahead of his side’s hectic period of fixtures in September.

In his press conference ahead of Saturday's Premier League match against Leicester City, the boss revealed that he may find it difficult to rotate his strikers as much as the rest of his players in the busy upcoming run of games.

Currently, there are only three strikers in the senior squad - Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, although the latter is not expected to be available for selection until after Christmas. Anthony Martial could, of course, also play down the middle.

When asked by a reporter how Ibrahimovic would fit into his plans, Mourinho was eager to say that Lukaku and Rashford need not worry about their places, and that the Swede would simply be a welcome addition to his squad, with rotation in mind.

“Zlatan is going to arrive into a ready-made team,” the manager said. “He is going to arrive mid-season with the team playing in a certain way, and with players having what I call the functional links in the dynamic of the team. So, nobody should be worried with Zlatan and I think, for you, it's just a funny exercise of football brain to try to anticipate [how we are going to set up] when he comes back.

“But we are going to be a better squad [when Zlatan is fit],” Mourinho continued. “For example, if we play at the weekend, and, two days later, we play against Burton, and I want to give a rest to my two strikers. Who do I play against Burton? I have to play Rashford or Lukaku. I don't have another one to play, so I cannot give rest to my players, I cannot do rotation with them like I'm going to do with the midfield players or with the central defenders or with the wingers, so we need a striker.

“We need a striker and we have one striker just around the corner that belongs to our family, that likes to be with us and play for us, we know well and he is one of the best strikers in the world. So, the only consequence of it is that we are going to have a much better squad.”

Mourinho was then asked if he was planning to use Ibrahimovic in a similar way to which he utilised Didier Drogba in the striker's second spell at Chelsea between 2014 and 2015 - as a squad player. However, the boss was keen to emphasise that United’s new no.10 would hold an influential role in his team, not just as a bit-part player.

"I see Zlatan [being] important to the team,” said Mourinho. “I just said that my squad is better [with Zlatan in it], for sure. He's one more option, he's one more striker, he's one more experienced player, he's one more player that can play nine or 10, that can play double strikers.

“If we progress in the Champions League, or if we progress in one of the cups, we are going to be in a position where we couldn't do it only with Lukaku and Rashford, especially if I play both together,” he added. “Because if I play one and the other one is on the bench, okay, but I'm playing with both, so if I play with both, I need a striker. 

"So probably in January I [would have been] knocking on Ed Woodward's door asking for a striker, but I don't need to knock on the door, because I already have one of the best in the world."