The signing of Romelu Lukaku was deemed to be just what Man Utd needed by most fans and pundits alike. Having spent time at clubs including Everton and Chelsea, the combative Belgian had built up a rich pedigree for scoring goals, and few in the past were able to come close to his lethality at such a tender age.
Signing for Chelsea brought him to our attention, signing for Everton brought his quality to the fore, and signing for Man Utd, it seemed, would be the making of him.
In a way, it has been. For the most part, he’s continued to score goals at an alarming rate, whilst other aspects of his game have come on leaps and bounds, too.
However, his recent injury – which forced him out of Man Utd’s tie with Juventus and leaves him as a doubt for their clash with Man City – has raised an interesting concern for the Belgian.
Despite being very much an important member of the squad since the arrival of Jose Mourinho, is Lukaku really that necessary at Old Trafford?
Of course, fans will immediately claim that he is. And there is certainly an argument to that effect. He’s their main forward, with very little in the way of natural other options in his mould, and his aforementioned goalscoring record is as good as anyone in the Premier League in recent memory.
However, it’s not all rosy for the Belgian.
Whilst he does bring goals to the table, the reality is that often – that’s all he brings. Man Utd impressed against Juventus earlier this week with their ability with the ball at their feet, and that’s been on display a few times over the course of the season when Lukaku hasn’t been on the field. Lukaku’s lumbering stature is great in physical games, but it fails him when the ball is at his feet. His technical ability has long been a problem, and it hasn’t really improved. A lack of link-up play, his much-discussed poor first touch and his general mixed form mean that he’s a player that isn’t really involved outside of the penalty area. When the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are on the field, though, that changes. They’re all tremendous with the ball at their feet, and that link-up play and the work that they’re able to do between one another could have huge positive implications for the club.
Not to mention, his goalscoring record this season – the one thing that has kept him in the good books – has not been good at all. His 4 goals in 10 Premier League appearances is nothing special, and he’s rarely been able to score when Man Utd need him to step up. Add to that his 0 Champions League goals, too, and his lack of form quickly becomes an issue. He hasn’t scored in back-to-back Premier League games since September, and he hasn’t scored a Premier League goal since then either.
Ed Woodward, given the sizeable investment that was paid for Lukaku, won’t want to hear it, but Lukaku’s role in the squad is very quickly coming up for debate. Has he got a role to play? Sure he does, but is he an undroppable, unstoppable force in the Man Utd attack? It’s clear that, at this point, he’s not. Man Utd can win games without him, and in current form, the only thing that he’s going to be doing is losing them games.
Thoughts?
