Romelu Lukaku can be an “awesome” signing for Manchester United and should not be compared with Lionel Messi, according to the striker’s Belgium teammates.
Lukaku was purchased by United from Everton for £75 million earlier this month and the striker is having a great pre-season tour with the Europa League champions. The 24-year-old has scored in United’s last two tour matches, against Manchester City and Real Salt Lake.
United will be hoping Lukaku can help fill the void left by Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was released by the club after scoring 28 goals in all competitions last season.
Manchester City and Belgium midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who played against Lukaku on Thursday, said he is sure his compatriot will do “very well” at Old Trafford.
“Everyone knows what his qualities are and he will do what he has to do,” De Bruyne was quoted as saying by The Guardian. “Obviously, he has his way of playing. Don’t compare him to a Messi. He’s a big physical guy and can be awesome.”
Lukaku has to prove himself at the highest level, according to Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, but De Bruyne is confident his compatriot will do well despite the pressure of his high price tag.
“There’s a lot said about these big transfers, people mock him and other players on social media,” De Bruyne said. “You know it’s there but you just can’t care about that. You just have to do your job and I think he will score 20-25 goals for United a season and that will speak for itself.”
Lukaku has scored 88 goals in the Premier League since 2012, second only to Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero. “If you see his ratio of goals, it’s incredible,” De Bruyne said. “He’s one of the best in the world and what is he, 24? You can say that about him at that age.”
Belgium and Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany also spoke highly of the “special” Lukaku. “The one thing you get when you have Romelu is an incredible drive to improve and to score goals,” Kompany said. “It’s something really unique that I’ve been able to observe over the years because he’s been a player from Anderlecht, which is the same youth system where I come from and I’ve really followed his progress.
He added, “The key thing with him is he believes he’s the best player in the world. It doesn’t matter whether he is or he isn’t, that’s the way he approaches every single training session and every game. If you think you are the best you can never really be satisfied with yourself and therefore you always keep working harder and harder and that’s what he does. It’s a special player [for United] to have.”
