Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand have given a scathing review of striker Romelu Lukaku following Manchester United‘s Champions League draw with Valencia.
The two sides finished up goalless at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, with the two former Man United icons feeling Lukaku was among the worst performers for the Red Devils.
Scholes even think ‘needs to be coached’ into better movement.
Speaking on BT Sport after the game, Ferdinand, an 81-time England international, said “When the ball is developing more in central areas of the pitch he just stands and really he’s got to be moving even if he’s sometimes standing offside.
“Make defenders think and at the moment defenders are seeing exactly where he is, he’s not moving so you know what he’s doing and for a defender that’s a dream.
“You need players moving in behind, making your defender changing position and changing the eye-line.”
Meanwhile, Scholes, who won 11 Premier League titles during his playing days with Man United, added: “Lukaku is disappointing. His movement is non-existent at the minute. It looks like he needs coaching and telling where to run into.
“There was a couple of occasions when Paul’s hit good balls into him but they are not balls he is making a run for. They are balls that he’s been made to chase and Paul needs that.”
How does Lukaku compare with the Premier League’s top strikers?
Ferdinand and Scholes’ comments about Lukaku’s movement are strong but may not be wide of the mark when comparing the Belgian his direct competition in the Premier League.
This season, the former-Everton man has found himself caught offside on average 1.75 times per 90 minutes, compared to just 0.16 for Harry Kane and 0.95 or Sergio Aguero, suggesting the timing of his movement needs just as much work as where to actually go in the first place.
Generally, one of Lukaku’s main strengths is his ability to charge at opposition defences, beating men to force chances. However, this season, Lukaku has only been completing an average of 0.87 take-ons per 90, compared to 1.74 by Kane and an impressive 2.1 by Aguero.
The post ‘He needs to be coached’ – Paul Scholes slams Lukaku’s lack of movement appeared first on Squawka News.
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