Romelu Lukaku | United confirm deal subject to medical and personal terms

[TheBiggest]

2001 when we signed Ruud he would have been 25, a single year older than Lukaku right now and we'd have brought him in a year earlier at 24, the exact age as Lukaku but he sadly missed the season through injury, so not 27 peak, we're talking Ruud here at 25 and Lukaku at 24.



Just because Ruud had a slower start to his career and Lukaku a fast start (playing professional football since 2009! mind) doesn't mean anything for the player Ruud became. Some start their careers earlier and peak/finish earlier, see Mr.Rooney as an example



99-2003 was arguably the most talented team United have ever had, Ruud in 2003 almost carried us to the title by himself, in a team containing Keane, Becks, Scholes, Giggs , a lot of our all time greatest players he was seen as right up there in talent and importance.
If he was so limited a player as you claim, in That team, with those players, he'd have stood out like a sore thumb instead, you making him out to be some glorified poacher is fecking outrageous.




And back on the topic of that Everton fans take on him, the only thing that makes him sound anything like Ruud is the fact he wrote he's clinical, thats literally about the only similarity I see, the negatives written certainly don't sound like the Ruud I knew and loved.

There you go, I broke it up for you so you. Ps. I really like your condescending laugh smiley replies.

I have zero idea what you are arguing.

 

[Mockney]

can I ask a serious question to the older Man Utd fans.

Do you not resent going for players like Lukaku and Morata? Seems beneath Man utd to be fair.

As others have mentioned, this is perfectly standard United signing IMO. The whole galactico approach is a relatively recent thing, and partly fuelled by desperation. Fergie's best teams were built on signing promising young domestic players from less than competitive rivals. Especially with goal scorers. Cole was bought from a recently promoted Newcastle for a then British record fee off the back of one good season. I doubt many in Spain or Italy knew much about him at the time, or Yorke, who was bought from Aston Villa for £13m at a time when the world record was £17m. Louis Saha was bought from Fulham. Ruud Van Nistelrooy was only a quasi big name when we bought him, having only played one season in the CL for PSV and obviously Ronaldo was a promising but unknown quantity (but still the most expensive teenager ever at the time.) Even Tevez, who was undoubtedly a name, came before his star truly rose, and from a West Ham side who'd narrowly avoided relegation.

Only really Berba, Rooney and RVP could be considered big name marquee forward signings, and even then, Berba was hardly coveted by the other European big hitters, and Rooney was mainly known due his sparkling Euro2004, otherwise he'd have been much less renowned globally (I even remember a French fan asking me who he was during our opening match)

So paying high prices for relatively unglamorous or unproven-at-the-highest-level strikers has very much been our MO. Even Cantona was considered a bit of a risk, having only come to England cos he'd pissed off all of France, when his stock was so low he initially signed for Sheffield fecking Wednesday!

 

[devilish]

Don't worry guys, Phil has just said that Lukaku would do fine for us

http://www.teamtalk.com/news/neville-hails-lukaku-as-perfect-man-utd-replacement-for-zlatan

 

[Mihai]

Like I said, if he inhibits the rest of the team to score goals, retain possession and ultimately maintain control, then yes there would be strong objective logic to saying his goals don't outweigh everything else. Whether he will do that or not is a subjective prediction but it's nonsensical to rule it out as even a remote possibility.

Let's wait and see then.

 

[jderbyshire]

Tell ya what, he's got some pace for a big fella, eh...

 

[Eckers99]

I have zero idea what you are arguing.

Should've stopped there.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

He will defend as any other striker who played for Mourinho. Doesn't change the fact that you buy your main striker to score goals and not by how he tracks back and defends.

Not always true - Drogba was never a prolific scorer. In 8 seasons with Chelsea, he scored >20 league goals only once, with a total of 157 goals in 341 appearances (<50%) and yet was one of the best strikers to play in the PL

You should buy any player for the totality of what he brings to the team.

 

[Adebesi]

I have zero idea what you are arguing.

I reckon you do. But in case you really dont, I think it goes back to this post:

So, you'd take 27 (peak year) RvN over 24 year old (yet to reach peak) Lukaku right now?

At the age he is at now, Lukaku has scored more club AND international goals than Van Nistelrooy at the exact same age.

And if you think RvN was a good 'footballer' then you need to take of the red-tinted glasses. He was a finisher. That's all he was. He'd tell you that himself.

You know, the one where you strongly imply that Lukaku is a better prospect than RVN. No, scrap that, the one where you imply its laughable to think Lukaku ISNT a better prospect than RVN.

Reading his posts I get the sense he disagrees. Im inclined to agree with him.

But we'll see how things pan out.

 

[whatwha]

His last couple of years is the only reason why we can't demand £50-60 million for our club record goalscorer. Fair's fair I'd say.

He also happens to be 31 and in permanent decline. This is not some form thing where a new club would give him a new lease on life.

 

[Son Of Sam]

Since when is Lukaku worldclass?. I'm not even that keen on Kane but i'd rather Kane than Lukaku.
Seriously if City or Liverpool were paying £90mil for Lukaku, people on here would be pissing themselves, and don't try to deny it.

If City or Liverpool were paying £90m for Lukaku, we would piss ourselves cos it would be the equivalent of a primary school teacher trying to buy a property in Belgravia.

The fact that you are even comparing United's pocket to Liverpool is an insult to all and sundry. United are a very rich club. Rich people buy expensive commodities - stop moaning and get with the program.

Barcelona paid £130m for Neymar, the world did not end as a result. Real Madrid paid £86m for Bale about 4 years ago. United are in the same financial echelon as these lots. If Everton want £100m for Lukaku, we should pay it.

 

[Stormsurfer21]

As a Belgian myself I've been following Lukaku since his Anderlecht debut when he was just 16 years old. Now all those years later he seems ready for the next big step. Some areas of his game might still be lacking but he's young enough to significantly improve under the eye of Mourinho. He's strong, a good header, can finish and is deadly on the counter. The biggest worry is his hold up play imo, but surrounded with the right players and when he's familiar with Mourinho's tactics and gameplan this shouldn't prove to be too big of a problem. He has proven himself in the PL and I strongly believe he can score even more goals with more creative and better players around him (which wasn't the case at WBA and Everton).

His attitude and dedication is unquestionable. I'm sure he will work his socks off for the team and the manager. Give the guy a chance he might turn out to be something special after all. Let's hope that will be the case.

 

[Dave1812]

If it does end up costing 90m which i take with pinch of salt because everybody was saying 75m yesterday then Everton can pay a fee for Rooney or piss off. My believe is it is 75m and Everton are putting it out there that it is going 2 be 90m because they have been looking for around 100m and don't want 2 look like they have caved in.

 

[Needham]

The thread title is 75m agreed but in this case we need more confirmation. Where's the vid of Romelu smearing the badge with his splayed Belgian lips?

 

[LoneStar]

I really dont want to have this conversation but I cant stop myself.

Are you saying that your family in the US, who knew something about the name Manchester United, knew nothing about the name Real Madrid? Like, if you said Real Madrid to them they would assume you meant as opposed to fake Madrid? Or maybe its some kind of sports club but they dont know what sport? I find that very hard to believe.

Please dont reply. Please be stronger than me and save us from this ludicrous conversation.

I know lots of my non football friends, who 'supported' Manchester United during the word cup. Also some still think Ronaldo plays for United. Most of the elderly people (I mean like 40+) know Messi , Ronaldo and Manchester United. Of course, football is now becoming more and more popular here. And among football fans, most of the people in India support United, Madrid, Barca and Chelsea. Few Liverpool supporters too. I have seen one guy wearing a City jacket my whole life

Edit: oops, forgot Arsenal, plenty of Arsenal fans too XD

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

His attitude and dedication is unquestionable. I'm sure he will work his socks off for the team and the manager.

It's what he's wanted for years. To be the main man at a big club. I think he'll surprise a few here, wouldn't surprise me to see him get the golden boot.

 

[littlepeasoup]

The thread title is 75m agreed but in this case we need more confirmation. Where's the vid of Romelu smearing the badge with his splayed Belgian lips?

Pretty sure videos like that are kept behind a curtain at the back of the store.

 

[Adebesi]

First of all:

I know lots of my non football friends, who 'supported' Manchester United during the word cup. Also some still think Ronaldo plays for United. Most of the elderly people (I mean like 40+) know Messi , Ronaldo and Manchester United. Of course, football is now becoming more and more popular here. And among football fans, most of the people in India support United, Madrid, Barca and Chelsea. Few Liverpool supporters too. I have seen one guy wearing a City jacket my whole life

Edit: oops, forgot Arsenal, plenty of Arsenal fans too XD

Elderly? Feck you!

Second of all, dont try and rope me back into that conversation, Im done with it.

 

[KingMinger22]

Cole, fee £7m, turnover £61m, 11.4%
Lukaku, fee £75m(?), turnover £570 (predicted), 13.1%

So, a bit higher, but about the same region. Assuming its £75M that is, seen other figures floating around.

Quality contribution.

People seem to really struggle to understand the economics of football in 2017 on this forum.

Yes it would be stupid. Since when is Kane world class? 200m for a 32 year old Ronaldo? Ok then...

Kane is absolutely world class. He is also completely unattainable at this point.

 

[Adnan]

 

[TheReligion]

If we are paying £90mil for Lukaku, i'd rather we spent £200mil on Ronaldo or Kane, or another world class striker (it doesn't matter if they are available when we are talking about £200mil).
I mean would that really be any more 'stupid' than spending almost half that on freaking Lukaku?.

It's 75m

 

[LoneStar]

First of all:



Elderly? Feck you!

Second of all, dont try and rope me back into that conversation, Im done with it.

Couldn't think of a better word , no offence mate.Elderly in terms of football, I guess :P

 

[BeforeKeanetherewasRobson]

Revenue and profit are better measures of how rich a club is. Having a high value is of little use cos you cannot really spend money you dont have.

An example of the flaw is the fact that Forbes ranks Spur ahead of PSG when the latter earns almost double in revenue. Also AC milan is ranked second in serie A behind Juve despite bleeding almost 100m per year for over 5yrs running.

Profit maybe, revenue not.

"Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity"

 

[shamans]

Pros:
- There's no messing around in front of goal. He nails them.
- Great positioning makes him score more.
- Has played as link up striker and target man under Martinez
- Fits Mourinho's big target man philosophy very much
- If he nails the big chances Zlatan buried, he will get 20+
- Only 23

Cons:
- Can be marked out of a game
- Not scoring much against big teams (yet)

If you hear his interview you'll listen to him say that he never was comfortable as a target man and it was never his game.

I know you haven't said this but I sense a general theme of Lukaku being some lump of muscle upfront who only powers his way to goals. You'd think he's a better version of Fellaini with whats being talked here. You don't score that many goals by being just muscle.

 

[onemanarmy]

Kane is absolutely world class. He is also completely unattainable at this point.

Imho only Lewandowski, Aguero and Suarez are world class strikers (bar Ronaldo and Messi, which I don't qualify as strikers). All the rest are at least one tier below. Unattainable, yes.

 

[Robertd0803]

Why do Sky keep going to a reporter outside Carrington, when Lukaku is in bed in an LA hotel?

Have to justify paying the salary of some of their reporters considering that Twitter (and indeed their own mobile highlights) have pretty much invalidated Sky Sports News in the last few years.

 

[Adebesi]

So he hasnt had his medical yet.

 

[ROFLUTION]

If you hear his interview you'll listen to him say that he never was comfortable as a target man and it was never his game.

I know you haven't said this but I sense a general theme of Lukaku being some lump of muscle upfront who only powers his way to goals. You'd think he's a better version of Fellaini with whats being talked here. You don't score that many goals by being just muscle.

That's sort of what I think his strengths is though. His muscles and cleanliness in front of goal. He's simply great at it - and thats no shame.

 

[notcool]

So what if he doesn't have a good first touch? Ibra had a great first touch, kept coming deep to get the ball and we spent about a year passing the ball around in midfield. Lukaku will be much more simple: running in behind for a ball over the top. The fact that he loses the ball is good for us because it's good possession that means there isn't space in behind for us to exploit. Lukaku will mean more end to end games, which will be better for scoring goals and more exciting (and more like the Man Utd of old) to watch.

 

[Adebesi]

Couldn't think of a better word , no offence mate. Elderly in terms of football, I guess :P

Don't worry mate I was only joking.

 

[shamans]

BTW, can someone explain his whole loan and sale to Everton? Someone on here said that wasn't Jose's doing - wanted to know how?

 

[Sunny Jim]

Profit maybe, revenue not.

"Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity"

Profit is a matter of opinion, cash is the king

 

[Stormsurfer21]

It's what he's wanted for years. To be the main man at a big club. I think he'll surprise a few here, wouldn't surprise me to see him get the golden boot.

Exactly. It's his main goal and achieving that with his friend Pogba and with Mourinho at the helm only makes it even more special.

 

[KingMinger22]

As others have mentioned, this is perfectly standard United signing IMO. The whole galactico approach is a relatively recent thing, and partly fuelled by desperation. Fergie's best teams were built on signing promising young domestic players from less than competitive rivals. Especially with goal scorers. Cole was bought from a recently promoted Newcastle for a then British record fee off the back of one good season. I doubt many in Spain or Italy knew much about him at the time, or Yorke, who was bought from Aston Villa for £13m at a time when the world record was £17m. Louis Saha was bought from Fulham. Ruud Van Nistelrooy was only a quasi big name when we bought him, having only played one season in the CL for PSV and obviously Ronaldo was a promising but unknown quantity (but still the most expensive teenager ever at the time.) Even Tevez, who was undoubtedly a name, came before his star truly rose, and from a West Ham side who'd narrowly avoided relegation.

Only really Berba, Rooney and RVP could be considered big name marquee forward signings, and even then, Berba was hardly coveted by the other European big hitters, and Rooney was mainly known due his sparkling Euro2004, otherwise he'd have been much less renowned globally (I even remember a French fan asking me who he was during our opening match)

So paying high prices for relatively unglamorous or unproven-at-the-highest-level strikers has very much been our MO. Even Cantona was considered a bit of a risk, having only come to England cos he'd pissed off all of France, when his stock was so low he initially signed for Sheffield fecking Wednesday!

Galactico means world class, high profile player.

If we could actually get them, that would be the best solution to fix our mediocre team.

But we have not been able to.

They are rarely available and lots of clubs want them. Mostly hoarded at the top 2 in Spain in the last half-decade or so.

This summer there has been a dearth of available talent it appears. As such, Lukaku is probably the best we can do. He will be useful.

As a Belgian myself I've been following Lukaku since his Anderlecht debut when he was just 16 years old. Now all those years later he seems ready for the next big step. Some areas of his game might still be lacking but he's young enough to significantly improve under the eye of Mourinho. He's strong, a good header, can finish and is deadly on the counter. The biggest worry is his hold up play imo, but surrounded with the right players and when he's familiar with Mourinho's tactics and gameplan this shouldn't prove to be too big of a problem. He has proven himself in the PL and I strongly believe he can score even more goals with more creative and better players around him (which wasn't the case at WBA and Everton).

His attitude and dedication is unquestionable. I'm sure he will work his socks off for the team and the manager. Give the guy a chance he might turn out to be something special after all. Let's hope that will be the case.

Good post. I think he will prove a useful player for many years.

Whatever happens this summer, it looks very unlikely we are going to be able to recruit the calibre of players that many of us were hoping or even expected to kick on to the higher level Cl teams. They simply aren't available.

 

[Dave46]

First of all:



Elderly? Feck you!

Second of all, dont try and rope me back into that conversation, Im done with it.

 

[Tiber]

I still vastly prefer Morata, however this deal is getting done and Jose should get the team he wants even if that means Lukaku, Matic and Perisic...

Can't deny that the guy can finish

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Felt like last year (Zlatan included most of the time) we needed to create about 6 chances to actually get a goal, hopefully Lukaku can address that

 

[Red Devil Rising]

Only Vardy, Alli, Hazard and Sigurdsson scored more goals against the top 6 last season than Lukaku.

So can we start an Aguero/Sanchez/Costa/Kane big game bottler thread please.

 

[Adam-Utd]

BTW, can someone explain his whole loan and sale to Everton? Someone on here said that wasn't Jose's doing - wanted to know how?

Jose wanted him to stay, Lukaku knew with Costa in his way he would get little first team football so he demanded to move. Similar to Pogba's situation, although they didn't lose him for free.

 

[Adam-Utd]

I still vastly prefer Morata, however this deal is getting done and Jose should get the team he wants even if that means Lukaku, Matic and Perisic...

Can't deny that the guy can finish

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Felt like last year (Zlatan included most of the time) we needed to create about 6 chances to actually get a goal, hopefully Lukaku can address that

Wow, notice how many of those are taken first time? He really finds the corner well especially from the left side. Can't wait

 

[ryanhutchings]

Edit: oops, forgot Arsenal, plenty of Arsenal fans too XD

Easily done

 

[stepic]

Barcelona paid £130m for Neymar, the world did not end as a result

and here I thought Pogs was the record holder