#2 He’s still young and hasn’t hit his prime yet
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United’s signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2016/17 was obviously a success for the most part as the charismatic Swede netted 28 goals in 46 appearances, 17 of which came in the Premier League. The only problem? Ibrahimovic was always just a stop-gap and a short-term solution given he’s clearly in the twilight of his career.
His season at United was his 17th top flight one and judging by his severe knee injury, he isn’t as bulletproof as he once was.
Lukaku meanwhile feels like he’s been around for ages in the Premier League – 2016/17 was his fifth full season in England’s top league and before that he played two full seasons for Anderlecht in Belgium – but he’s still only 24 years old.
It means that for all the criticism he gets regarding his first touch and his work-rate and so on, realistically he’s probably nowhere near his prime yet.
Even if you argue Ibrahimovic was past his prime when he hit 17 goals in the league, judging by past successful Premier League strikers such as Alan Shearer, Robin Van Persie, Les Ferdinand and Jamie Vardy, there’s nothing to suggest that a striker peaks in his mid 20’s.
Particularly for a player who relies more on his power and physicality than his pace like Lukaku, the likelihood is that he’ll continue to get better until he hits his early 30’s.
That means United could well have a dangerous, top-level striker on their books for the best part of a decade. And even if he cost a lot of money, if he lasts that long at the top, it probably means he’s been worth it.
