Does anyone still see potential for Lukaku?

Dong Fangzhuo

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He is what he is at this point, a decent (yet overrated) finisher with a sunday league touch. There's no more potential there.
 

Ali Dia

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He at least needs some serious competition for his spot, he’s got nothing currently. We shouldn’t be relying on just lukaku next season that’s for sure. In his defence We create crap chances for him as we are too ponderous and wasteful in the buildup and we can’t cross for shit. He’s not the best striker untied could have but also I don’t think any of our current front 3 are good enough to win the big competitions.
 

Tiber

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He at least needs some serious competition for his spot, he’s got nothing currently. .
Harsh. He can atleast keep his spot on the bench imo. Very hard to sell him next year if we even take that away
 

passing-wind

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He's certainly better for Belgium that what he is for the club, you can put it down to personnel but the biggest implication of his bad form for us is that we play one of the worst standards of football in the league.

The reason why we need a striker to link up the play is because neither Ole / Mourinho has implemented any kind of structure to our build play moving from midfield to forward players. If our creativity doesn't run through Pogba then we have no outlet, we are so disjointed you could fling prime Henry, RVN, Aguero in our starting 11 and they will struggle.
 

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He is what he is at this point, a decent (yet overrated) finisher with a sunday league touch. There's no more potential there.
This. It's not like he's going to suddenly improve and get much better. While Lukaku offers a decent squad option, if we can get some decent coin for him Woody should pull the trigger.
 

Cantonagotmehere

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This. It's not like he's going to suddenly improve and get much better. While Lukaku offers a decent squad option, if we can get some decent coin for him Woody should pull the trigger.
I want better, but how many better goal scorers are out there? Lukaku can score goals, hard to doubt his record.
 

SER19

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31 goals in last 30 internationals. He's a fantastic goalscorer and we are just too rubbish to make chances.

My fear is that, while a forward will ideally be part of the build up, that we will see improvements next year with more attack minded full backs and ideally more creativity from pogba and eg fernandes, and we will increase our chance creation and see nobody finishing them off. Lukaku was low on confidence all season in a dreadful set up but when he's scoring he could easily be a 30 plus a season player.
 

nameischarles

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I wouldn't sell him just yet. We still need to invest in other areas, I think he can still do a good job this coming season but if he can't then ship him off next summer and replace him.
 

Sky1981

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Wrong man in the right system?
Wrong man in the wrong system?
Right man in the wrong system?

Before we got our house in order and pick what system we want to employ and stick to it, i don't think we should sell anyone of our more expensive player. Lukaku was fine before he joins us, fine for half the time he join us. The very same lukaku banged in goals for everton and for us. What's changed?
 

Jeffthered

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No.

Thing is, he is actually a Europa League standard player.

But he's not the Centre Forward Manchester United need. We need a better player. He lacks quality.
 

Jeffthered

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Wrong man in the right system?
Wrong man in the wrong system?
Right man in the wrong system?

Before we got our house in order and pick what system we want to employ and stick to it, i don't think we should sell anyone of our more expensive player. Lukaku was fine before he joins us, fine for half the time he join us. The very same lukaku banged in goals for everton and for us. What's changed?
Lukaku scored goals at clubs which have no expectations.

A good forward. But not a top forward. Think Aguero. Lewandoski. Benzema. Mbappe. Suarez. Kame. Griezeman.

Lukaku is not on that level.

He lacks focus, and will not inspire anyone in that dressing room. Lukaku is perfect for a Jesse Lindgard team.
 

meamth

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The main issue with Lukaku is that he is the Sheringham if he is in 1999 squad.

We need our Cantonas, Ruuds, RVPs, Rooneys, or Coles.

None in our current squad have that quality.
 

Sky1981

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Lukaku scored goals at clubs which have no expectations.

A good forward. But not a top forward. Think Aguero. Lewandoski. Benzema. Mbappe. Suarez. Kame. Griezeman.

Lukaku is not on that level.

He lacks focus, and will not inspire anyone in that dressing room. Lukaku is perfect for a Jesse Lindgard team.
Di maria lacks drive, lukaku lacks expectations, de gea, pogba, bastian, depay, and many others.

Maybe the problem is us
 

SER19

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The main issue with Lukaku is that he is the Sheringham if he is in 1999 squad.

We need our Cantonas, Ruuds, RVPs, Rooneys, or Coles.

None in our current squad have that quality.
Wed be all over a 1999 Teddy Sheringham these days
 

Patrick08

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Wrong man in the right system?
Wrong man in the wrong system?
Right man in the wrong system?

Before we got our house in order and pick what system we want to employ and stick to it, i don't think we should sell anyone of our more expensive player. Lukaku was fine before he joins us, fine for half the time he join us. The very same lukaku banged in goals for everton and for us. What's changed?

  1. His Service is not the same like at Everton or West ham. Delafaou provided great balls to him to finish and he thrived on that. This kind of service is not available here with the Likes of Martial Rashford And Sanchez who all are wide strikers looking for shooting themselves from wide areas.
  2. Space, he is a big lad who requires more space to operate in. At Everton he had more space inside the box on quick counter attacks by their side. That's not the case at united. Team's park the bus against us and our transition very slow and dogged coupled with minimum service and lack of quality deliveries from wide players and full backs. A cross needs to be fizzed in for a striker who directs it towards goal. Loopy crosses from our wide players means he needs extra efforts to put power and direction behind it and the chance is gone.
  3. His own shortcomings. Gained too much weight, became lazy, and also is not intelligent enough to find space in the box, make off the ball attacking runs in dangerous areas and also beat offside trap which is very crucial as a striker.
I believe the signing of Daniel James will provide him some good service this coming season and we will see his numbers rack up.

Soldidifying the midfield and having quick transitions will help as well in an open game. Though against deep defences he will have to find space away from defenders to be an effective target man in the box. Fitness wise too get back in shape which all depends on his motivation.
 

roonster09

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Can you list any more big games he scored for us? I genuinely dont recall many
Chelsea and in other big games even though he didn't score he made assists or played really well. There are many awful performances too.
 

Lynty

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He's been a top player every year since a teenager. One poor season and people are saying he's shit.

He'll come good again, it would be a shame if it was somewhere else.
 

Patchbeard

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He looks good for Belgium against smaller nations, like he often looks good for us against bottom half teams. But wasn't up to much in the knockout stages of the World Cup.
 

2cents

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He's been a top player every year since a teenager. One poor season and people are saying he's shit.

He'll come good again, it would be a shame if it was somewhere else.
Two poor seasons with us.
 

SteveW

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He's a good player but doesnt want to get fit and doesnt want be here.
 

scholesyboy18

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An average player, poor touch, no holding ability, cannot beat anybody, nothing special with passing and at best average finishing. Signing such players is the reason why united is currently behind others.
 

GifLord

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He's been a top player every year since a teenager. One poor season and people are saying he's shit.

He'll come good again, it would be a shame if it was somewhere else.
If he was a top player then all top clubs would come sniffing but he wasn't even given a chance at Chelsea after a good season he had at WBA which should tell you a lot.
The guy is so limited it's a joke how he even became a pro to begin with.
 

shaky

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Two poor seasons with us.
When so many players go from looking excellent to very poor, soon after joining us, don't you start to suspect it's us that's the problem and not the players?
 

Needham

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It's such a sad question. Like asking "Do you think I'll ever be young again?"
 

11101

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If he was a top player then all top clubs would come sniffing but he wasn't even given a chance at Chelsea after a good season he had at WBA which should tell you a lot.
The guy is so limited it's a joke how he even became a pro to begin with.
Come on now...

He's an excellent player for a team that's spends its time pinned back and needs a striker to help break out on the handful of chances they get per half. Running at defenders there are few better and his goal record speaks for itself.

It's in a top team that is expected to operate and hold the ball around the opposition third that he's out of his depth.
 

haram

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It's in a top team that is expected to operate and hold the ball around the opposition third that he's out of his depth.
Except he isn’t and our home record when we finished 2nd is proof of that. If anything he did a better job than Ibra who would drop deep and clog play.
 

haram

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He looks good for Belgium against smaller nations, like he often looks good for us against bottom half teams. But wasn't up to much in the knockout stages of the World Cup.
Actually ran through the Brazil midfield for Belgium’s second goal and assisted the de Bruyne goal...
 

2cents

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When so many players go from looking excellent to very poor, soon after joining us, don't you start to suspect it's us that's the problem and not the players?
Sure we have huge problems, this is not a great side for any player to be coming into. However there were plenty of question marks over Lukaku when he joined, he’s confirmed a lot of the doubts expressed about him at that time.
 

Murder on Zidane's Floor

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My logic in supporting his transfer was solely that he was a flat track bully. After Moyes and LVG I always thought that our biggest issue was more towards our performances against teams we should be smashing, the bottom six, not the top six.

I honestly thought we could grab an extra 12 points a season by battering the bottom teams and scoring goals in the kinda games where we either lost or drew.

Unfortunately our football and our creativity have continued to go backwards and we create less and less. So either we build a really creative team where Rom will have lots of chances and can score lots of goals or we move away from a CF focal point like City/Liverpool.

Aside from that perhaps Rom, who has played 400 games before hitting 27 has already physically peaked and he may well start declining. Lot of miles and work in those legs from a young age, similar to Rooney who started showing signs at 27 of decline?
 

11101

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Except he isn’t and our home record when we finished 2nd is proof of that. If anything he did a better job than Ibra who would drop deep and clog play.
Proof of what? 10 goals in 18 games i think it was? Hardly setting the world on fire is it.
 

haram

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Proof of what? 10 goals in 18 games i think it was? Hardly setting the world on fire is it.
His job as the number 9 goes beyond just scoring goals. We went from drawing games at home to winning them and the main difference in the side was Lukaku at number 9 instead of Ibra and Jesse as the number 10. Also Matic for Herrera. Our home record was very good.
 

Aloysius's Back 3

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The only way Lukaku is useful is if we attempt to play Jose's type of tactics..

Whilst I'm not sure exactly how Ole will make the team play - I have a feeling that Lukaku will be sold to buy a right sided forward with a left foot.
 

Eleven-Eighteen

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I'm always surprised by the fact that people rarely, if ever, mention how terrible he is in the air, especially for someone his size.

It is downright preposterous how few times he gets on the end of goal kicks to head it back down to someone from our team.
 

11101

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His job as the number 9 goes beyond just scoring goals. We went from drawing games at home to winning them and the main difference in the side was Lukaku at number 9 instead of Ibra and Jesse as the number 10. Also Matic for Herrera. Our home record was very good.
Being better than a 35 year old Ibrahimovic is not much of a measure for success. He started well because he was busting a gut running channels and was effective at certain things. Then he seemed to settle and stop working as hard, and anyone with eyes could see he was messing up as many chances as he helped create, then he inexplicably came back from summer about 10kg heavier. There was a player around October 2017 who had a 50/50 chance of making it here, but that player is long gone.
 

Classical Mechanic

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Happens every time he runs over a Championship - non league level international team. It just doesn't prove he's an elite striker.

He's tier 2 striker but you have to take the rough and smooth with him and there a lot of rough.