What went wrong for Lukaku at Manchester United?

Romelu Lukaku joined Manchester United in 2017 from Everton for a massive transfer fee of £75m. But the Belgian failed to deliver at Old Trafford as per expectation.

Lukaku was in sensational form at Everton. He became the 4th player in the Premier League to score 80 goals before the age of 24, after Wayne Rooney, Robbie Fowler, and Michael Owen. When he arrived at Old Trafford, it was expected that he would be explored much more. But it didn’t happen. Lukaku has scored just 42 goals in his 96 appearances for the club.

After two bad seasons, Manchester United finally let him go to Inter Milan in 2019. Romelu Lukaku started flourishing again at Inter Milan under Antonio Conte. He has already scored 56 in 80 matches for the Italian side.

But what went wrong for Romelu Lukaku at Manchester United?

When Lukaku joined Manchester United, Jose Mourinho was in charge at Old Trafford. Mourinho is always known for his fast counter-attacks with one-two fast passes. But the questionable first touch of Lukaku sometimes lets him down.

After the sacking of Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge. But Lukaku was given time off at around the first month of Solskjaer’s reign for the birth of his child. Before he was back, Marcus Rashford started cementing his place as the team’s first-choice striker. But Ole changed his position and tried to use him as a winger. But with his questionable first touch, it was always going to be difficult to play there.

Lukaku is much more flexible when he used as a target man in the box. Antonio Conte found out missing part of the puzzle.

It is not the fault of Lukaku or Manchester United. Some clubs have their own style of play. The style of Manchester United didn’t suit the Belgian. A different style, along with less pressure, helped Lukaku to flourish at Inter.