Swedish Hero Saga Mostly Smoke And Mirrors

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Swedish hero and football player, has once again been linked to a number of teams in the English Premier League but just how much credence can we put in tales of his leaving PSG and tripping across the Channel to play for the likes of Arsenal, Man Utd or Chelsea?

Zlatan on the march?
• Arsenal at summer’s end?
• Premier League move ahead?
• Olsson “urges” on cue

If you like to bet on sports in Sweden there’s a good chance you’ve been using ComeOn! Sportsbook to wager on the ever more interesting career of homegrown hero Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the thinking man’s Luis Suarez (thankfully without the vampiric tendencies) who now playing for French team Paris St. Germain. Their domination of Ligue 1 is almost embarrassing, so why are there constant stories about this Swedish hero moving on from a winning formula?

The number of stories that “link” Zlatan to other clubs looking to acquire him is quite staggering, not because of their quantity or frequency, but because they’re stories at all. When newspapers or sporting websites talk about big name clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea wanting to sign the gifted player people tend to believe this is somehow unusual, but lets be honest, there’s not a team in the world that wouldn’t like to have this Swedish hero on their roster.

Sure, there might be a few managers wary about taking on such an outspoken player, perhaps some Premier League corporate owners that would worry a little too much about what he might say at the next press conference, but in general the world is his oyster when it comes to picking somewhere to play next. It is assumed by most that he’ll want somewhere with a little more competition to the football than the Swedish hero is getting in France at present.

Paris St. Germain Dominate Ligue 1

Paris St. Germain sit astride Ligue 1 sitting at the top of the table almost unassailable already with a massive goal difference over SM Caen the team at least five wins behind them in second place. They’ve scored more and let in fewer than anyone by an almost massive margin, and that leads some to suspect that the domination provides for very little challenge for players like Swedish hero Ibrahimovic, their team’s success not hung upon their performance game by game as much as elsewhere.

Of course if you’re Swedish gambling laws of common sense would suggest that there’s nothing wrong with being on a team that always wins, you’re not thinking like a footballer that revels in the pressure of the moment, which might explain why the Swedish hero left it so late in the Euro 2016 playoffs against Denmark. But can changing to another team really satisfy any hunger he might have for a more competitive season’s fixtures? Some think so. Some leagues are just more competitive than others.

The English Premier League is the obvious comparison where a runaway lead at the top of the table is the stuff of a manager’s pipe dreams, the tight standings keeping the games between the top half dozen teams matters of life, death and corporate profits. Add to this the constant pressure of the UK’s tabloid press and you’ve the perfect storm for a football league, which is, ironically what washes up stories about Swedish hero Zlatan Ibrahimovic moving on from PSG on the shores of our awareness.

Is The Swedish Hero Heading For The EPL?

Work for a British tabloid and need to write a story about Zlatan Ibrahimovic because after that freaky goal against England there’s a fascination with him in the UK? Well don’t worry it’s easy, just grab a microphone and go and find any Swedish player in the Premier League and ask if they think that the Swedish hero should move to the EPL. Now, regardless of which player they ask they know ahead of time that they’ll get a so-and-so-urges-Zlatan-to-come-to-the-Premier-League quote because the player they ask can’t say no.

Say no and the next question is “Why not? What’s wrong with it?” To which there is no safe answer if you don’t want to be pelted by things the next time you trot out on a Saturday afternoon. This week it was the turn of Jonas Olsson, currently at West Brom, to be ambushed in this manner, and he provided the usual encouraging statements, but are we really likely to see the Swedish hero turn out for Arsenal, Man united or Chelsea after the summer? Who can say? But I’m not gambling news of it will arrive before it’s all signed and sealed.

Paris St. Germain meanwhile continue their rampage through Ligue 1 with a game against OGC Nice on Friday and ComeOn! Sportsbook pretty much gives the game away by offering just 1.39 on the table toppers from the capital whilst poor old Nice get a less than nice 7.00 to win the game. Hardly an exciting prospect as a game or a wager, but backed up by the atmosphere created with some of the world’s best online sports betting sites UK football has a far greater sense of competition, and may yet become home to this Swedish hero.