Former Manchester United winger Jesper Blomqvist has backed fellow Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic to continue his stunning start to life at Old Trafford.

The 34-year-old joined on a free transfer earlier this summer from Paris Saint-Germain and has hit the ground running, netting four goals in his first three games.

Another goal on Saturday at Hull would see him emulate Alan Smith’s record as only the second newly-signed post-war Manchester United striker to score five times in August.

Ibrahimovic’s form has been one of the main reasons behind talk of United potentially winning the Premier League title this season and they are currently 3.75 to top the standings come May, behind only local rivals Manchester City, who are 2.75.

Blomqvist enjoyed a successful, if injury plagued three years at Old Trafford between 1998 and 2001, starting for the Red Devils in their Champions League final triumph against Bayern Munich in 1999.

The former winger admits he has seen a new determination in his compatriot since his arrival in Manchester and has compared him to club legend Eric Cantona. “Zlatan couldn’t have got a better start.

It’s crazy. It’s incredible. It’s so cool,” Blomqvist told the Manchester Evening News. “You can see with Zlatan that he is fully aware, that he knows that this is a wonderful challenge that he needed now to be able to play well.

“You can see that he is incredibly pumped up for this and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him this engaged and so enjoying his football. “He reminds me of Eric Cantona, the aura he has; how he carries himself.

He really shows everyone that he is a winner and that he is convinced that everything will be alright.

He is just as cool, calm and confident as Cantona.”