'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
In Jose Mourinho's first season at the club, he guided Manchester United to the Europa League trophy, won the League Cup and the Community Shield as well. A player that was a vital cog in their successes was none other than Zlatan Ibrahimovic who was signed on a free transfer from PSG.
He scored a remarkable 28 goals in his first campaign and everything was going well until a European night at Old Trafford when United hosted Anderlecht.
He landed awkwardly after jumping for an airball and snapped his cruciate ligament in the process. A long-term injury that would eventually keep him on the sidelines for at least nine months. Mourinho needed a striker, someone who can fill the void left by the Swede.
Trending
With Madrid playing hardball over Morata, Jose turned his attention to Romelu Lukaku who was seemingly headed to Chelsea. Some eyebrows were raised when Mourinho and Manchester United decided to splash out £75 million in the summer of 2017 to sign Lukaku from Everton.
Many were worried if he had enough quality to lead an attack on his own. A lack of experience in the Champions League was another talking point. And although the striker has fared well, there still remain question marks about his calibre.
Here are five reasons why maybe it is time we stopped doubting the Belgian.
#5 Contrasting approach to the game
Looking at how Manchester United sets up on most match days, a pattern is apparent; Anthony Martial, Alexis Sanchez or Juan Mata are usually employed on the wings and all three of them like to cut inside and play at close quarters.
The only natural width arises from the wings where Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young are usually deployed and crossing is seen only as a Plan B when the middle of the park becomes too congested. When they eventually put in a decent cross (which is a rarity), Lukaku finds himself as the only target and tightly surrounded by defenders inside the box.
This is in stark contrast to the way Everton plays, where Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman, being excellent crossers and set-piece specialists, whip in cross after cross and Lukaku had developed a great understanding with them.
If Mourinho can find a system to get the squad's creative personnel closer to Lukaku or identify players who can put in quality crosses consistently, it would do him a world of good.
#4 Not succumbing to pressure
Two things are inevitable when you play for Manchester United - the grandeur that comes along with the charisma that the famous shirt offers and the added pressure to perform every time you play for them.
It is almost impossible to escape attention and scrutiny week in and week out with so many eyes and cameras on you. A hefty price tag does not do any favours either.
All this attention, debates and discussions are unavoidable and it takes someone with a strong mentality to withstand them. Seasoned players like Di Maria and Falcao have crumbled under it in the recent past and so far Lukaku has done well to cope with it.
At Everton, he had the liberty of being able to underperform for a few weeks but at a club as big as United, that is never the scenario. You need to learn to live with the expectation and pressure if you want to survive at this club, and with a long history of classic no. 9's and goal scorers, he already has big shoes to fill.
Although he has nearly 7 years of Premier League experience, this may seem quite a task for the 24-year-old, especially with the added pressure of everyone questioning his price tag so often. It is perhaps time we all stop speculating and let him grow more into the role.
#3 Manchester United themselves struggling against top 4 opposition
Everyone seems to focus on the fact that Lukaku has never scored against a "top 4" club but that was re-written when he scored against Chelsea last week and set up Lingard for the winner.
He was also involved in two goals when United beat Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates earlier this season and he provided the flick on for Martial to score the winner against Tottenham in October. Lukaku has scored or assisted the winning goal for United 5 times.
With Manchester United themselves scoring only once in 7 games away to City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs, it is time we put Mourinho's approach in these games under the microscope instead of criticising a lone striker.
#2 The 'lone' striker - literally
It is no secret that Mourinho emphasizes defensive solidity over free-flowing attacking football. This "pragmatic" approach that he enforces on his players is very often questioned by pundits and fans alike.
For almost two decades, this formula has guaranteed his teams remarkable success and he remains a master of this trade.
This becomes evident particularly against the big teams when Mourinho prefers to sit back, absorb the pressure and catch the opponents on the counter-attack.
Now, a scapegoat for this approach is Lukaku who needs the support of his teammates and depends on good service from them to a great extent. Most of the time, he has to go up against the two central defenders all by himself and a lack of options around him results in the ball being dispossessed.
Yes, he needs to improve on his hold up play and use the power he is blessed with to bully his markers, but a serious lack of runners off the ball or teammates in the close vicinity does not help the cause.
#1 The numbers' game
£75 million transfer fee? £200,000 a week salary? Not the numbers we need to focus on. Then, what? This may come as a surprise to many but the big Belgian, quite astonishingly, has scored nearly 200 career goals for club and country.
Put this against the facts that he is still 24 years old, yet to reach his prime, on the good side of the learning curve and not the finished article yet, there is every chance he may go on to break goalscoring records set by previous greats.
We are nearing the business end of the season and Lukaku has already racked up 22 goals and 7 assists in 40 games in all competitions this season. That is more than what his close adversaries Morata and Lacazette have scored, combined.
And speaking after playing a pivotal role in United's win over Chelsea last week, he said: "Year in, year out people expect 20 goals from me. I’ve been doing it for 10 years straight so I think I’ve proved myself. You expect a bit more respect but it’s the situation we’re in. I don’t listen to it. I just want to improve and show the people what I can do on the pitch.” And perhaps he does.
