Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s hopes of joining Manchester United have been crushed

Louis van Gaal may have been reading too much Cormac McCarthy recently.

The American writer penned the chilling book 'No Country for Old Men', which inspired the memorable Coen Brothers movie of the same name. Perhaps a copy of the book, or film, has made its way into the Dutchman's hands judging by his comments to a Swedish TV station about the chances of signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic this summer. Ahead of this weekend's clash with Tottenham at White Hart Lane, the 64-year-old, speaking to Swedish TV station Viasat, was asked his thoughts on PSG's free-agent-to-be Zlatan Ibrahimovic making a move to Old Trafford. The ex-Ajax boss did not give a straight answer as usual, but instead spoke about how he managed to lower the average age of the squad he inherited from David Moyes.

“We need to improve our selection because when I took over we had six or seven players above 33 years old. Nobody knows that anymore because now they are gone. But now we have a much younger team and still we need a much younger selection because we need creative players in attack and also fast players."

Speaking about the Swede, Van Gaal likes his style, but not the greying at his temples. He didn't wish to comment on the possibility of signing the 34-year-old striker, but clearly it's not something the ex-Barcelona coach is considering right now.

"You never know? I cannot say anything about that subject. “He’s already 34 and I just spoke about the age [of players] I let go. “I think it is unbelievable what he is doing. I saw the game against Manchester City, and it was a big disappointment for me because he should have scored two times at least. “Paris Saint-Germain is Zlatan and that is fantastic. When a manager like me, who favours the team [above the individual], is saying that, that is a compliment for him.”