Analysis: Is Lukaku really good enough for Man United?
It isn’t as if United weren’t interested in the big Belgian already, but the manner in which the news came about left many rattled, especially after the club were apparently very close to signing the Spaniard. And the news has left many wondering as to whether Lukaku would be a feasible alternative to Morata, once he takes to the pitch for the Old Trafford club. There is no doubt that the Everton man is a feared Premier League goalscorer, but it’s not just about banging the goals in. It’s something much more than that, especially for a manager like Jose Mourinho.
It would be fair to say that Lukaku has been one of the Premier League's most consistent goalscorers over the past three seasons. Since his move from Chelsea back in 2013, when Mourinho himself had offloaded the Belgian to Goodison Park, he has emerged as being one of the Premier League's top five goal-getters, around the likes of Sergio Aguero, Diego Costa and Tottenham's Harry Kane. Some United fans would had vivid memories of him scoring an impressive hat-trick against the Red Devils during his loan spell at West Bromwich Albion on the last day of the 2012-13 campaign.
Since then, Lukaku's stock has risen consistently and his exploits in front of goal prove that he may well deserve a bigger club than Everton. He could well be a big fish in a small pond. But once you delve deeper into what has transpired over the past three season, you may well realise something else.
Lukaku has scored more than all of United's highest goalscorers (per season) ever since he joined Everton. And he has been the Premier League's third highest scorer since the 2013-14 season, behind the duo of Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero. He knows how to keep defenders on their toes, and use his frame to take defenders on and beat them. But there are some aspects of his style and attitude which bring out red flags about his ability.
The former Anderlecht man is deadly in front of goal and is one of the best finishers around, but his decision making in the final third and first touch can let him down. Throughout his stay in the Blue half of Liverpool, Lukaku has failed to amass a passing accuracy of more than 75 percent, with last season's stat standing at a paltry 65 percent. With his back to goal, Lukaku does attempt to hold the ball up, but there are numerous instances when poor passing at the end of the hold-up breaks up play. The attacks break down much long before they be launched in earnest.
The Belgian does like to turn and run with the ball, but he does that probably once or twice in two games because of his inability to hold up play and distribute possession to those around him. He gets dispossessed more than 2 times per game on an average, which has to improve, if he really wants to play for a big club.
Over the past few seasons, Lukaku has rightly been criticised for underperforming in big games. He does score, but struggles to impose himself in matches when he’s up against better defenders who stay close to him. It was certainly about not having too much service around him when coming up against better players as Everton looked to do the defensive job more, but it’s one of those things that a big fish in a small pond needs to do. Pull the team out of a mess when things around going right. But Lukaku goes invisible in a lot of games against the top six.
There were instances last season of how much of an arrogant character he is. The instances suggest that he considers himself to be a far better than he actually is. During Everton's 1-1 draw at Old Trafford last season, Lukaku was seen getting embroiled in a verbal spat with skipper Ashley Williams, who was asking him to drop deep and do a bit of defensive work for their side as they were defending a 1-0 advantage. Lukaku refused the skipper's orders and went about his job of staying forward.
In another instance, Lukaku's inability to act as a down-to-earth personality came to the fore. When asked about Harry Kane, the Belgian was of the opinion that he is a better striker than the Tottenham superstar. He also said: "If I don’t have the feeling that you aren’t going to teach me something, why should I look at you?"
And the price-tag, which happens to be as colossal as £75 million needs the player to be focused, humble and down to earth. He has to know that even a morsel of an error can pile on the burden on your shoulders and as a result, multiply the already-present pressure that was there. You need to work hard in the training ground and put those extra yards in to prove the world that you are worthy of the hype and of the fee that's being shelled out for you.
Lukaku doesn't seem to have the characteristics required to justify the fee, which will heap more pressure on him. It would require a stark change in his attitude more than anything else. Jose Mourinho know him and his attitude well and he knows about the reason for as to why he was allowed to leave too. Lukaku had to face a lot of competition for playing as a first-choice during the period around 2013 and the presences of the likes of Demba Ba, Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o made it difficult for him to make a mark in the first team. And the fact that he has been very open about informing people about his urgency to leave Everton itself suggests that he thinks he is very good.
It’s undeniable that Lukaku is a talented player. But he needs to fix a lot of things if he wants to play for a club as big as Manchester United… and in a hurry, too.
Kaustubh Pandey