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

How do you feel about the imminent signing of Romelu Lukaku?

  • Muppetastic!

    Votes: 456 20.6%

  • Happy enough

    Votes: 1,222 55.2%

  • Ambivalent

    Votes: 370 16.7%

  • Disappointed

    Votes: 112 5.1%

  • Oh please god no!

    Votes: 54 2.4%
  • Total voters
    2,214
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I think he'd be a perfect fit for us. The strength and physical presence that Ibra has, but allied with the pace to start/join fast breaks. His touch leaves something to be desired, but then Ruud was hardly a magician and he worked out pretty well.

Only problem is that we'd almost certainly need CL football.
 
If we sign him, chances are it will go the same way as Benteke to Liverpool. Benteke also scored lots for a poor Villa side, but it turns out that was his correct level.
 
schwalbe said:
Those clubs have no interest in developing kids for other teams. They either have some young prospect they can give playing time to or they play someone with less talent but who's more experienced and better at that moment.
It makes only sense to loan very young players to small clubs.
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I'm not saying that it should be those clubs, but clubs of that size. But are you sure? Italian clubs are used to loaning players. It's not just about developing - if they can get a player for 1 or 2 season and can't afford a better alternative then they'll loan him. Atletico Madrid loaned Courtois for 3 years, despite not needing to "develop" the player.

Milan has loaned Balotelli despite having a problematic past. Lazio can rarely afford to get the best players so they'd also be intested, maybe not now with Immobile doing a good job. But you get the idea. If they need a striker and can't afford a better one they'll simply loan him.

Don't think loaning out a talented player to a small club will prepare him for Manchester United. He has to be able to "lead" a good team in a good lague to be able to develop in a good way and be good enough to take over after Ibrahimovic. But this is my opinion.
 
RedMaestro said:
I'm not saying that it should be those clubs, but clubs of that size. But are you sure? Italian clubs are used to loaning players. It's not just about developing - if they can get a player for 1 or 2 season and can't afford a better alternative then they'll loan him. Atletico Madrid loaned Courtois for 3 years, despite not needing to "develop" the player.

Milan has loaned Balotelli despite having a problematic past. Lazio can rarely afford to get the best players so they'd also be intested, maybe not now with Immobile doing a good job. But you get the idea. If they need a striker and can't afford a better one they'll simply loan him.

Don't think loaning out a talented player to a small club will prepare him for Manchester United. He has to be able to "lead" a good team in a good lague to be able to develop in a good way and be good enough to take over after Ibrahimovic. But this is my opinion.
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I think it depends a lot on the player. Very young players are usually not developed enough to help a club of that level immediately and developing them doesn't make sense because they won't reap the benefits. So it's better to loan them to smaller clubs where playing time is guaranteed.
 
IF we are interested (and I dont see why not) then this is where doing constant business with Everton doesn't help us in the slightest.

We going looking for Lukaku from them and they will charge us a fortune and make it difficult regardless of the fact we have a pretty decent relationship with them it seems. Im not saying that that particular relationship should mean we get a discount of 10/20 million on the asking price but I would hope it would make them easier to deal with and more open to selling to us instead of Chelsea.

Irrelevant anyway though, can see Chelsea bidding what Everton want and sealing the deal in about 25 minutes like most Chelsea transfers.
 
schwalbe said:
I think it depends a lot on the player. Very young players are usually not developed enough to help a club of that level immediately and developing them doesn't make sense because they won't reap the benefits. So it's better to loan them to smaller clubs where playing time is guaranteed.
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Maybe you're right. But the players I was thinking of should have very high quality despite being young. Andre Silva is already playing for Porto, so he would likely be more than good enough for a good team in a good league even if he maybe won't be ready to lead the line for Manchester United. Dolberg has done a good job in Ajax and would probably be good enough for a couple of the better clubs (not title candidates) in the top 4 leagues.

But the player has to accept this and I'm not sure if there are players willing to do this. It's just my hope, since I don't like the available players right now. Maybe it's just wishful thinking from my side. :)
 
SidRed said:
If we sign him, chances are it will go the same way as Benteke to Liverpool. Benteke also scored lots for a poor Villa side, but it turns out that was his correct level.
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He may flop at a big club but he's a far far better player than Benteke. You don't have to watch either that often to notice that.
 
royboy16 said:
Do we have any players that are consistent in the forward position ?
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That's my point actually. Any addition we get needs to be clinical and consistent - two things missing from our forward players. Ok Ibra not bad, but others who should be stepping up have no consistency. I don't want us to add another streaky player to that situation, especially if they cost an arm and a leg.
 
RedMaestro said:
Thanks for the answer. Just thought about it because Ibra used to play with Trezeguet at Juventus - not the same type of player but still. Well then I hope Ibra stays and either wait for a better alternative when Ibra leaves or hope that Rashford will develop enough to take over. I still think that the best idea would be to buy a young striker (for instance, Dolberg or Andre Silva or someone else) and loan them out for 1 or 2 seasons (if they are willing to do this), till Ibra leaves, and then take over. But a loan to a relatively good club in a good league, like Villarreal, Sevilla, Dortmund, Gladbach, Leverkusen, Lazio, Milan or Fiorentina.

I simply don't like the alternatives that are available at the moment, sure Lukaku seems to be good, but I'm not that convinced that he can be the leader the team will need. I hope so, but I'm not sure. But I must admit that I haven't seen him a lot so it's not that fair of me to be too critical. I also do think that he'll cost way too much and it will be the same as the Pogba-situation. People will focus on the fee and expect more than what the players show on the pitch.

I'd prefer it if Dybala could be brought in to help Ibra and Danilo Pereira to help Pogba. Griezmann will maybe stay because of the "sanctions" in Atletico Madrid.
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Agreed, the striker position is an issue for us in general, Ibra has been great but at 36 next season it's a huge gamble to put another 50 games on his shoulders, and you could also argue our attack is too focused on him rather than being a unit. However you're right that the best attacking options out there right now are not #9's bar Aubameyang, they are all support strikers or wide attackers. One interesting aspect could be if Jose has liked what he has seen from the shape in the last 2 games, if he has we'd be looking at a 2 striker system which could be ideal for the players we have.

Lukaku isn't the answer regardless, his game has a couple of big flaws in that would be badly exposed in a team that has as much posession as we have and faces as many parked buses as we do.
 
SidRed said:
If we sign him, chances are it will go the same way as Benteke to Liverpool. Benteke also scored lots for a poor Villa side, but it turns out that was his correct level.
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You realise that Everton are currently around the same level as Utd at the moment. Also Lukaku is twice the player Benteke is.
 
Ibra is, in my view, part of the problem. A guy who scores at the rate he has doesnt deserve stick as an individual BUT just like in 2005, our attack is far too static, too predictable, with him in it.

Saha was a breath of fresh air, please dont tell me that Rooney/Ronnie became world class over the course of one summer, they didnt. What changed was pace, interchangeable forward positions and forwards in those positions.

Back to topic, Rom is quicker than Ibra, can run the channels and has,perhaps, another 10% improvement in him. Ibra, next year, at 36......Ill pass.
 
He's got a contract until June 2019. Lets wait until next summer. Not only will that mean he will be in the final year of his contract (so last chance for Everton to make money out of him), but also it'll be another season to assess him, see if his overall game improves.
 
Zlatattack said:
He's got a contract until June 2019. Lets wait until next summer. Not only will that mean he will be in the final year of his contract (so last chance for Everton to make money out of him), but also it'll be another season to assess him, see if his overall game improves.
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I don't think it's a case of us waiting. If he leaves it'll be this summer, next summer weakens Everton's hand. I assume us and Chelsea are the two that will be interested in him, and if that's the case and we don't move, Chelsea will take him.
 
Have to admit he'd be a really exciting signing. Maybe not top tier but his size and pace would be a big asset to us. Someone who can lead the line and offer than threat of running in behind. Would bring much needed goals to the side.

Big mates with Pogba, same agent as him, Ibra and Mikhi.

Rooney to Everton.

It could happen.
 
balaks said:
You realise that Everton are currently around the same level as Utd at the moment. Also Lukaku is twice the player Benteke is.
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It's a bit silly looking for striker on teams only the equivalent current league position. Just look at last season Chelsea and Leicester and now.
 
Sparky10Legend said:
Ibra is, in my view, part of the problem. A guy who scores at the rate he has doesnt deserve stick as an individual BUT just like in 2005, our attack is far too static, too predictable, with him in it.

Saha was a breath of fresh air, please dont tell me that Rooney/Ronnie became world class over the course of one summer, they didnt. What changed was pace, interchangeable forward positions and forwards in those positions.

Back to topic, Rom is quicker than Ibra, can run the channels and has,perhaps, another 10% improvement in him. Ibra, next year, at 36......Ill pass.
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This. Not many people are going to agree with this but its the same situation as RVN in 05-06. He was a deadly striker but he was our sole source of goals and as long as he was around the team was built around him. If he had a bad day, we had a bad day and we didn't win the league.

We need to let Zlatan go. If we win the Europa, with the final in his native Sweden, it would be the perfect send off and we would have fond memories of a fantastic year. We need him to leave not because he is bad or anything but the fact that the team won't progress with him around. We need our attack to be more mobile in order to be amongst the elite once again.

But I doubt Lukaku is the answer. In my opinion it would be best to play Rashford up front with players like Martial, Douglas Costa (he is making noises about wanting to leave Bayern, it might be possible to get him) and someone like Griezmann (if we can get him) or Mkhi. All players capable of fast interchange as well as possessing a proven goal threat.
 
I'm convinced we have already agreed to buy him ..I never bought he was at carrington the night we signed Pogba just to keep Pogba company.

I can see the similarities between him and Ruud hopefully though we don't build everything around him like we did Ruud and not be as predictable for opponents to work out
 
King7Eric said:
This. Not many people are going to agree with this but its the same situation as RVN in 05-06. He was a deadly striker but he was our sole source of goals and as long as he was around the team was built around him. If he had a bad day, we had a bad day and we didn't win the league.

We need to let Zlatan go. If we win the Europa, with the final in his native Sweden, it would be the perfect send off and we would have fond memories of a fantastic year. We need him to leave not because he is bad or anything but the fact that the team won't progress with him around. We need our attack to be more mobile in order to be amongst the elite once again.

But I doubt Lukaku is the answer. In my opinion it would be best to play Rashford up front with players like Martial, Douglas Costa (he is making noises about wanting to leave Bayern, it might be possible to get him) and someone like Griezmann (if we can get him) or Mkhi. All players capable of fast interchange as well as possessing a proven goal threat.
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Yes. Agree with everything you said. Especially the bolded part.

I feel Lukaku is very good, but he is a little like Zlatan, in that he kind of prefers to be the primary target. I feel we could do much better if we went for more mobile strikers who can score themselves but also bring others into play. Think such players make the team a stronger unit and we are less reliant on one person for getting the goals.
 
SidRed said:
If we sign him, chances are it will go the same way as Benteke to Liverpool. Benteke also scored lots for a poor Villa side, but it turns out that was his correct level.
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What a lazy comparison between two completely different strikers.
 
I like Lukaku and think he will do well at United, but if we are to spend big on a striker this summer, I would like to see us bid for Mbappe. A forward line of Martial, Rashford and Mbappe would rip any defense apart with a decent midfield behind them.
 
lsd said:
I'm convinced we have already agreed to buy him ..I never bought he was at carrington the night we signed Pogba just to keep Pogba company.

I can see the similarities between him and Ruud hopefully though we don't build everything around him like we did Ruud and not be as predictable for opponents to work out
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That's a new one on me, highly suspicious if true. Not a fan of him myself.
 
SidRed said:
Really? Then please tell me some strikers who are similar to Big Rom.
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Definitely not a big target man like Benteke, you've literally just looked at them saw they were physically similar and decided they play the same way. Simple observation of both players will show you they play completely different ways, I shouldn't have to write a list down to spell it out for you. You can see the difference by actually just watching them.
 
He's a mourinho style forward...drogba, Ibra style...a unit who can also find the net...

I've said for years he'd be a perfect United striker...
 
lsd said:
I'm convinced we have already agreed to buy him ..I never bought he was at carrington the night we signed Pogba just to keep Pogba company.

I can see the similarities between him and Ruud hopefully though we don't build everything around him like we did Ruud and not be as predictable for opponents to work out
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IIRC, Pogba actually signed when he was in the US.
 
AltiUn said:
Definitely not a big target man like Benteke, you've literally just looked at them saw they were physically similar and decided they play the same way. Simple observation of both players will show you they play completely different ways, I shouldn't have to write a list down to spell it out for you. You can see the difference by actually just watching them.
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Obviously each player will have his own characteristics which are more developed but basically these two are similar players unlike say likes of Chicharito or Griezmann. They are both capable of playing the role of big target man with Lukaku having added qualities. Its not like I was comparing him with Messi.
 
lsd said:
I'm convinced we have already agreed to buy him ..I never bought he was at carrington the night we signed Pogba just to keep Pogba company.

I can see the similarities between him and Ruud hopefully though we don't build everything around him like we did Ruud and not be as predictable for opponents to work out
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Nothing like Ruud imho.
 
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