Man Utd should sign Romelu Lukaku if they want to compete with the best, says Dwight Yorke
Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke has made the bold claim that Romelu Lukaku would be an ideal signing for the Red Devils to compete this season.
Man Utd have had a bit of a striker problem. Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford have both struggled for fitness over the past few years, while the latter also prefers to play inside forward.
The Red Devils sold Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo last season, while Wout Weghorst’s loan in January was short-term and unsuccessful. So, Erik ten Hag has already turned to the transfer market.
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Rasmus Hojlund had a breakthrough season at Atalanta in 2022/23, just one year on from initially joining the Italian club. After two starts in his first two Serie A games, with one goal, Hojlund then had to fight for his spot in the Atalanta team and really came to life in 2023. When the league returned from its World Cup and winter break, Hojlund scored eight goals in 21 Serie A matches in addition to one assist as Atalanta finished fifth in the table, sealing Europa League football. That was enough for Man Utd to fork out £64m for the 20-year-old.
However, Hojlund is still a young player and currently out injured, so was absent as Man Utd laboured to a 1-0 win over Wolves on the opening weekend of the season. Former Man Utd defender Rio Ferdinand believes Hojlund will have a similar first campaign to Darwin Nunez at Liverpool, having to adjust to the Premier League before kicking on.
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But this causes a problem for Man Utd, who need a goalscorer now. They hit the target with just three of their 15 attempts against Wolves and Yorke, who won the Treble with Man Utd in 1998/99, made an interesting suggestion.
“Romelu Lukaku is absolutely still good enough to play for a top-six club,” he told OLBG.
“I think Man Utd or Tottenham should take Lukaku on a short-term loan deal and agree to pay a certain amount of his wages.
“As much as people say about Lukaku, he has a very impressive goalscoring record and he doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves.
“If you have a fired-up Lukaku who wants to play for you, he’s a match-winner and a handful for any opponent in the world. Man Utd have invested heavily in Rasmus Hojlund, but if you want to compete with the best then Lukaku is that player who can score 15 to 20 goals in a season, which is priceless and hard to find in today’s game.
“Lukaku is still only 30 years old and a proven goalscorer, I think whoever gets him on a short loan deal will have done good and subtle business.”
Despite struggling with injuries last season, Romelu Lukaku hit double figures for goals in Serie A having been sent back on loan to Inter Milan. On top of his 10 strikes, at an average of 0.54 per 90 minutes, Lukaku also provided six assists in the league, but a permanent return to Inter Milan has not materialised.
Lukaku is on the market this summer, not given a squad number at Chelsea as they look to draw the line under a failed transfer, and there may be some Man Utd fans with fond memories. In his first season at Old Trafford, Lukaku scored 16 goals in 34 Premier League games, but the next season that reduced to 12 in 32, before he was sold to Inter Milan.
