As of today, Manchester United have officially signed striker Romelu Lukaku. The deal worth £75 million will reunite the Belgian with manager Jose Mourinho who, while at Chelsea, loaned and eventually sold him in 2014.
Those few years have definitely seen Lukaku develop well as he improved year-on-year in goals, shot accuracy, and chances created since making the permanent move to Everton.
Last season was easily Lukaku’s most impressive to date both in real life and in Fantasy. He finished last season on 216 points, making him the third best forward in the Goal game. That feat is made even more impressive by the fact that only one of his goals came via the penalty spot.
Those points mostly came from his 25 goals and 6 assists, both career highs. The Everton man’s 64% shot accuracy, also the best of his career, was the second highest in the league among players with more than 50 shots.
From an Everton perspective, losing Lukaku will be a massive blow as he accounted for 43% of their goals last season.
Looking forward to his impending Manchester United career, Lukaku compares quite favourably to their big signing last season, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Swedish striker finished top five in total shots (116) which is more than Lukaku (111), yet the latter still managed to put more shots both on target and in the net.
As for style, the fact that United finished second in the league in crosses definitely comes as a added benefit for forwards who offer a significant aerial threat. Jose Mourinho’s side also finished fourth in chances created, four spots higher than Everton.
All in all, this is definitely a positive move for Lukaku. Any possible regression should be countered by the fact that he is moving to a more creative side. So, while it would be difficult to expect him to repeat his high shot accuracy percentage, the fact that United will likely create more chances should see his goal total either match or surpass last season’s.
The fact that Lukaku will only face one top 10 defence from last season in his first five matches, and priced at £7.9m, makes him a must own to start the season.
