Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku is likely to divide opinion for the rest of his career. To look at his stats alone you can’t help but to be impressed. Through his career the big Belgian has scored at a rate of better than one goal every two games.
And he hit 27 goals in 51 appearances in his debut campaign for Manchester United. At just 25 you might expect that the best is yet to come.
But his goals tend to come against the smaller sides. Games against top clubs tend to pass him by. The gap in finesse that separates the good from the great was no more apparent than in the World Cup semi final in Russia where Lukaka’s poor control and slow reactions at crucial moments symbolised Belgium’s defeat. Lukaku is a great athlete and a great pro. But a great player?
So as long as Lukaku is the spearhead of the attack Manchester United will continue to struggle in the most important games.
One player who has a similar goal ratio but a different level of class is reported Manchester United target Mauro Icardi.
The 25-year-old Argentinian, who scored 29 goals in 36 Serie A games last season, mixes guile and graft in equal measure. He’s got the stats and the hunger for goals. But he looks to be the sort of player that can decide the biggest games too.
His touch is superb and he appears to have a football brain that makes the game look easy.
Reports this week suggest that Inter are trying to get the striker to agree to a new contract with Manchester United keen on his services.
The Daily Mail:
Inter Milan keen to tie Mauro Icardi and Milan Skriniar down to new contracts in attempt to ward off Manchester United interest
The Sun:
Manchester United keen on Mauro Icardi and Milan Skriniar as Inter desperately try to tie duo to new contracts
TFF thinks that Manchester United have so many good players that a world class striker could complete the jigsaw. With Anthony Martial not currently favoured by Jose Mourinho, Icardi could be the man to take United to the next level.