Manchester United must not allow Zlatan Ibrahimovic 's influence to fade after just one season at Old Trafford.
The Premier League retained list is set to be published this week and the Swedish striker's future at the Reds should be made clear.
The announcement will reveal if the 35-year-old has been offered a new deal by the club, agreed a new contract or will be released when the 12-month agreement he signed last summer ends on June 30.
United would almost certainly have taken up the extra one-year option on that 2016 deal had it not been for the cruciate knee ligament injury Ibrahimovic suffered in the Europa League tie against Anderlecht in April.
Ibrahimovic's rehab work is already looking impressive but he could still be unavailable until the New Year.
But United cannot afford to lose the impact he has had on the Reds' dressing room.
As early as Ibrahimovic's first Premier League game against Bournemouth last August, manager Jose Mourinho was eulogising about the influence the Swede was having.
“The first thing I can tell you is that his table at breakfast and his table for meals he is surrounded by the young ones,” said Mourinho.
“He is surrounded by the kids like Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford. They are at his table. He knows what he can be for them.”
Teenage Mancunian striker Rashford told MEN Sport recently that Ibrahimovic's help had been invaluable.
“You will see the benefits in years to come. What I have learnt from him is irreplaceable,” said Rashford .
“No other forward in the world could have come in and been able to learn so much from him. There is nobody else that we could have learnt that much about football and mentally than from him.
“The results will be there to see.”
Ibrahimovic has also had breakfast chats with Anthony Martial to help the French forward.
The veteran is on a huge wage at Old Trafford and United need an asset like that to be playing.
But you cannot put a price on that off field inspiration. It is gold dust.
United are looking to bring in a new centre forward to step into Ibrahimovic's boots.
But they are not replacing like for like. Strikers linked with United like Andrea Belotti from Torino, Everton's Romelu Lukaku and Real Madrid's Alvaro Morata are all in their early 20s.
They maybe the next big thing and will cost a fortune, but they will still need to have the ear of an influencer like Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
And United may also need the man himself for the 2018 assault on the second half of the season.
A pay-as-you-play deal and a revised wage packet to keep in reserve for the second half of the 2017/18 season - new signings or not - could be one of United's most important deals of the summer.
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