Jose Mourinho has told Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford they must deliver if they want to keep Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the sidelines.
The Sweden striker has committed to Manchester United for the season even though he is not yet fit after knee surgery.
Boss Mourinho reckons Ibrahimovic, 35, who scored 28 goals in 46 games before his cruciate ligament injury in April, will be ready for selection by January.
And he says the onus is on current attackers Lukaku – with three goals already – and England starlet Rashford to keep Ibrahimovic out.
After successive 4-0 Premier League wins, Mourinho said: “Zlatan knows me and he knows I play the players I think are best for the team.
“If he comes here and proves that he is the best, he plays. But if the other ones don’t give him a chance – that is life.
“He is one of the best strikers in the world so the only consequence is we are going to have a much better squad.”
United came sixth last term, but have started with successive 4-0 wins ahead of Leicester’s visit today.
Mourinho won the title in his second season at Chelsea after re-signing Didier Drogba and is hoping Ibrahimovic can also help his side to more silverware.
He added: “When Drogba came back to Chelsea for the second time, he was not the first choice for most matches.
“But I would say he was as important as the first choice for the title. Here we need a striker and we have one striker just around the corner who belongs to our family.
“Zlatan is going to arrive in a team, which I don’t say is an end product because in football there are no end products and we are just in the beginning of the second season. But Zlatan is going to arrive in mid-season with the team playing a certain way.
“Zlatan is one more option, one more experienced player and one more player that can play either nine or 10.
“We have lots of matches and if we progress in the Champions League and one of the cups, I don’t even say both cups, if we do that we are going to be in a position where we couldn’t do it only with Lukaku and Rashford – especially if I play both together.”
Anthony Martial has come off the bench and scored against both West Ham and Swansea after previously clashing with Mourinho.
The United boss admits he is working better with the Frenchman, 21, as they understand each other more now.
Mourinho added: “You cannot be happy just with glimpses of talent. That I am not going to change, I want more from him because he has all the qualities.
“But I think he understands me better too. That personal relationship is good.”