Zlatan Ibrahimovic is open to the idea of joining Bologna, according to the club's sporting director, with the striker currently weighing up his future after calling time on his career in Major League Soccer with the LA Galaxy.
The former Sweden international spent two seasons at the Dignity Health Sports Park in California, making an instant impact as he scored a double on his debut to help the side to a 4-3 El Trafico derby win over Los Angeles FC.
An incredible 52 league goals in 56 appearances for the club sees him leave LA as something of a club legend, but the 38-year-old is not yet ready to hang up his boots and is on the prowl for a new club.
Former side AC Milan have been touted as a potential destination for the outspoken centre-forward, but Bologna sporting director Riccardo Bigon is hopeful that Ibrahimovic's good relationship with head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic will see him make a switch to Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.
“With just a month and a half to go before the transfer market opens, Ibrahimovic and the coach already have a very strong relationship. They spoke to each other,” Bigon told Sky Italy.
“He expressed an openness to the idea of coming to Bologna, but right now he's taking time to evaluate all the possibilities for his future after announcing his farewell to MLS.
“We are very fascinated by this situation, but it is clear that we are not in control of it 100 per cent. The choice is exclusively up to the player, we are just waiting. We're ready and we're more than positive.”
Whether Ibrahimovic does arrive remains to be seen, but Bigon had other positives to talk about in the interim despite the Rossoblu struggling to get points on the board in Serie A.
“[Riccardo] Orsolini's first call-up for Italy is a source of pride for all of us,” he said. “Even if he didn't get to play. [Andreas] Skov Olsen also demonstrated his talent with his national team – I'm happy with the beautiful goals he scored and we hope to be able to trust him going forward.
“We went into the game against Sassuolo (a 3-1 loss) off the back of many good performances but with few points collected. We expect more. In Serie A, you can't just play nice football, you need concreteness. This is what we need to look for now.”
