Zlatan Ibrahimović was never going to announce his presence in US soccer quietly. Even by his and Hollywood’s standards, a two-goal salvo in Major League Soccer’s (MLS) first-ever Los Angeles derby was impressive. It was the sort of entrance that marketing experts dream of as they strive to cement soccer’s presence in America’s sporting culture.

There is every indication that they are pushing at an open door. Donald Trump’s son Barron is a fan, having been pictured several times in his Arsenal kit. The game is flourishing at grassroots level with nearly 4.4 million registered players in the US. Only Germany has more.

Armchair fans get the game brought into their living room. NBC shows every Premier League game and will do so until the end of the 2021-22 season, having paid $1bn (£705 million to extend its existing deal by six years.

The original $250m three-year agreement was a big gamble, admits Jon Miller, NBC’s president of programming. “We were not a soccer destination. We did the MLS, but there is a world of difference between that and the Premier League. “Not only did we have to hire a production team and hire talent, but we had to get people to come to us on Saturday and Sunday mornings when we had been running fishing and hunting shows.