Football
Rob Dawson, Correspondent 6y

Lukaku, Ibrahimovic can play together at Manchester United - Mourinho

MANCHESTER -- Jose Mourinho says he is ready to play Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in tandem up front now that the Swedish striker is fit again.

Ibrahimovic, who scored 28 goals last season, will return to the Manchester United squad against Newcastle on Saturday after seven months out with a knee injury.

His replacement, Romelu Lukaku, who was bought for £75 million in the summer, has already scored 11 goals for his new club.

And Mourinho has revealed he is prepared to play them both in the same team.

He told a news conference on Friday: "This season we played so many times with two strikers.

"We played so many times, especially when we played three at the back and the wing backs we brought the second man to the centre so we can do it.

"We are ready to do it and we prepared ourselves since preseason.

"In preseason we started doing three in the back already, so they can play together."

United are the Premier League's second highest scorers this season with 23 goals while they have added another 10 in the Champions League.

Most of those were plundered during a blistering start to the season.

But United have only averaged one goal a game since the beginning of October and Mourinho believes Ibrahimovic's return is well-timed.

He added: "I am excited because I have more options, I am excited because the team can be better, I am excited because I want to have players available.

"But I don't want to make a situation of Zlatan and Romelu because it can be Zlatan and Romelu, it can be just Zlatan, it can be just Romelu or it can be just no one. I want options and I have more options now in attack."

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