Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku is currently making the headlines given his precarious situation at the club. The Belgian striker is close to embracing the exit door at Old Trafford, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keen on using the earnings resulting from his transfer to strengthen his squad.
Lukaku’s two-year spell at Manchester United has mostly been disastrous to tell the truth. The 26-year-old striker arrived at Old Trafford with a rock-solid reputation, having scored 85 goals in 186 games in his entire career. Before he signed, Lukaku had notched 25 goals in his last 37 games for Everton in 2017, making both United and Chelsea to go at loggerheads for his signature. Seen as a long-term replacement for the ageing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he started his United career on a bright note.
However, his goal tally dwindled as the season progressed. The ex-Chelsea forward was criticized for his abysmal ball-control and technique. Following the managerial change in the mid-season, Lukaku also lost his starting spot to Marcus Rashford under Solskjaer. Now on the cusp of another new season, the Belgian is already seeking new pastures to resuscitate his wrecked career.
Inter Milan and Juventus have both shown equal interest in acquiring his services. However, that puts Lukaku into a dilemma as to which club he should go with. Let’s have a case in point for the clubs to see which club would suit the Belgian’s style of play in accordance with their requirements.
Juventus
Maurizio Sarri’s appointment at Juventus heralds the beginning of a new era at Juventus. Although it necessarily needn’t be called an ‘era’ since the Bianconeri have won the Serie A title for the past eight years.
A move to Juventus would guarantee Lukaku a lot of domestic silverware. However, the same can’t be said about his playing time. Sarri has a wealth of attacking options to choose from. Juve have been said to be keen on offloading Dybala, but that still barely seems to free up space for Lukaku. Ronaldo, Mandzukic, Kean, Cuadrado and Bernardsschi are the names that might stand in his way to get regular playing time.
Moving on, Sarri’s style of play requires a player to be well-adept technically – an attribute Lukaku has been criticized for incessant times last season. The stage at which the Belgian is right now, he requires more time on the field to boost his confidence and return to the old ways of scoring goals. Apparently, those things don’t appear to be materializing in Turin.
Inter Milan
Inter Milan qualified for the Champions League after six years last season. The 2010 Champions League winners are keen to build upon their success and have let their intentions known through their actions. The Nerazzurri signed Antonio Conte earlier this summer to replace Luciano Spalletti as the manager of the club.
The Italian’s arrival is a major reason why Inter Milan are being touted to provide stiff competition to Juventus this season. As a matter of fact, Conte’s arrival is also the crucial reason why the club have shown firm interest in signing Lukaku all summer.
The Italian coach is a known fan of the Belgian forward. He tried his level best to sign the 26-year-old at Chelsea two years ago from, before Lukaku pledged his future to Manchester United. Now, even after having a lacklustre stint at his current club, the ex-Chelsea boss is keen to recruit him at the San Siro by matching United’s £70m asking price for Lukaku.
The manager’s trust in a player is very crucial for his performance levels to attain new heights on the pitch. Conte’s eagerness to sign Lukaku in spite of the player’s struggles with form should be enough to convince Lukaku to join Inter Milan in the first place.
Next, it comes to the playing style. Antonio Conte is a proper defensive-minded coach, a quintessential old-fashioned tactician who emphasizes the importance on defence first. If his technique’s and tactics from previous jobs are studied, it is quite clear that the Italian usually prefers to have a strong physical center forward with good aerial ability. Graziano Pelle for Italy and Mirko Vucinic and Fernando Llorente for Juventus are some striking examples of how Conte prefers his marksmen to be.
The Serie A is known for its defensive football and Lukaku as an attacker also works hard enough to close down opposition defenders when not in possession of the ball. Add the fact that with Mauro Icardi close to the exit at the San Siro the 26-year-old could well become the main man and the player Conte builds his team around.
A structure built to suit his best attributes will definitely help Romelu Lukaku fire on all cylinders like he did in the past.
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