DESPITE boasting a substantial attacking talent, Manchester United’s underachieving forward men don’t score enough goals. Liverpool have scored 20 more times in the league than United this season – and conceded 31 fewer.
When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over, he praised his attackers, saying they were all better players than him. He talked of attacking football and it worked. Solksjaer’s side hit five in his opening game for the first time in the post-Fergie era and the team which managed 11 goals in the seven games before the Norwegian arrived scored 17 in Solskjaer’s first six.
Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku aside, all his attacking players looked revitalised as the goals and points flowed. Phrases like ‘let off the leash’ abounded, with Jose Mourinho’s pragmatism replaced by the Solskjaer’s urges and surges.
According to the MEN, Romelu Lukaku is said to be considering leaving Manchester United in the summer due to doubts over his role under Solskjær. A move to Italy is not being ruled out. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/M7lTqX4cCv
— RedMancunian (@RedMancunian) May 2, 2019
Romelu Lukaku had to be patient since he’d lost his place as United’s main central striker to Marcus Rashford after an autumn where Mourinho played him most weeks with little success. Lukaku had shifted some of the blame, saying he wanted more service from his colleagues. Yet his body language indicated a frustrated figure with declining movement declined as he stopped making the runs and replaced them with hand gestures.
Former striker Andy Cole told me in January: “Rom is a young man who is still improving. If you look at his goals at Everton, he used strength, power and pace to run behind people. If he came to me for advice, I’d say to him: ‘if getting the ball into your feet isn’t your biggest strength, use your pace. Use it, even if you are coming short to receive the ball. You can play one touch and then move again instead of trying to get hold of the ball and fight your touch’.”
Three months on and things are worse for him, with Gary Neville questioning his fitness after the disappointing 1-1 draw against Chelsea last Sunday.
Souness & Neville on Lukaku's fitness:
"I'm amazed Lukaku is not on a strict regime" pic.twitter.com/L0PVZKhj1t
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 29, 2019
Though not enough, there have been odd joyous moments for Lukaku. He was delighted to score twice at Crystal Palace in February and stood in front of the 3,000 raucous away fans at Selhurst Park singing “Rom, Rom, Romelu, Romelu Lukaku. Man United’s number nine, Romelu Lukaku.”
The Belgian set United’s other goal up with the team on their way to an eighth successive away win and a new club record for away wins. Paris happened a week later when he again scored twice as he played a key part in United’s greatest moment of the season.
Lukaku and the team have gone flat since. He’s not scored in the last eight games, while Marcus Rashford has gone six games without a goal,
Anthony Martial has one in 15, Alexis Sanchez one in 15 and Jesse Lingard one in 17.
Lukaku divides opinion among fans as much as Paul Pogba. Fans expected a lot for a player who cost £75 million, but he’s yet to become a great United striker and is 15th in the league’s the top goalscorers’ chart. Everton, where he thrived, have two players with more goals than Lukaku, who hasn’t made a single assist in the league.
Lukaku didn’t score a single goal in any of the six Champions League games he’d played in for United this season either – then Paris happened.
Still, 15 goals in 45 games in all competitions is some way from the start of last season when he told friends he was determined to beat Harry Kane to be the Premier League’s top scorer. He came sixth, with 16 goals to Kane’s 30. Stuck on 13, he’ll be lucky to get 16 this season.
Lukaku has a contract until 2022, but his new Monaco based agents aren’t dampening talk about him moving. Agents make their money when players move and last week he told Sky Sport Italia that he would like to play in Italy, offering: ‘Serie A is a dream, it would really be a dream. I hope I can play there at some point, although right now I’m focused on United and finishing fourth.” Such interviews are aimed to send a message out, but who in Italy could afford him and his wages beyond Juventus?
United are definite on some of their players not being for sale, less so on Lukaku. Yet United would be reluctant to take a hit on a player who is still only 25.
Icardi & Lukaku swap is being rumoured.
My thoughts:
– No, unless Lukaku loses weight and regains his physique from his Everton time and first season at Man Utd
– That touch is absolutely atrocious
– But, we get rid of Icardi's off-field dramas (Wanda) and pass them to Utd pic.twitter.com/99Ib118lh3— Uncle Sharma (@RSharmzz) April 30, 2019
The cost of top footballers has gone up in the two years since he signed and proven goalscorers aren't in abundance, but is he the goalscorer which will help a team win the league?
United are under no pressure to sell either and
Lukaku’s 2017 move was also more successful than Alvaro Morata, the man United would have signed had they not first opted for Lukaku.
Then, Lukaku talked of United wanting to be “the dominant force” when he signed, but that simply hasn’t happened and doesn’t look imminent. United are further behind the league leaders than they were when he signed.
Lukaku moved from agent Mino Raiola last year and now works with two agents. Away from football, he was offered more attention if he shifted his commercial work to Roc Nation, the agency owned by Jay Z. Raiola was not impressed. One of those commercial spin-offs was Lukaku’s own aftershave, which came out last week. He was pilloried for it. Timing is everything, on an off the pitch and Lukaku is currently lacking in both.
