Romelu Lukaku backed to be a bigger success at Man United than Ibrahimovic

Romelu Lukaku has big shoes to fill at Manchester United following his mouth-watering move from Everton in the summer, as the Belgian striker has to fill the void left by Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s departure earlier this year.

Swedish veteran Ibrahimovic proved to be a massive hit in his one-year with Manchester United, scoring 28 times across all competitions before his season was ended prematurely by injury- which was a major concern for the Red Devils.

Jose Mourinho’s side were heavily reliant on Ibrahimovic last season and Lukaku joins the club with plenty of pressure on his shoulders, although he’s already proved his worth by scoring a brace on his Premier League debut at Old Trafford- adding to the consolation goal he netted in the European Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid.

A fine start to Lukaku’s Manchester United career has raised the expectations for the Red Devils this season and their new main-man needs to find the sort of consistency that eluded him during stages of his career with Everton.

However, Robbie Savage believes the former Chelsea forward will be a massive success at Manchester United and has made the bold claim of stating Lukaku will beat Ibrahimovic’s goal tally this season.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Savage said:

“It’s exciting times here at Old Trafford this season. Lukaku could, with the start he had today, he could be getting 30, 35 goals for United.”

Lukaku will have to rise to the occasion in the Champions League, a level he’s yet to experience, if he’s to become a hit at Manchester United but his strong start to the season puts him on the right path in the early days of his Red Devils career.

The striker will certainly fancy his chances of adding to his early goals tally this weekend against relegation candidates Swansea City but stern tests are right around the corner, with Manchester United facing games against Leicester City, Stoke and Everton over the course of the next month.

Lukaku will need to improve his tally against the bigger sides in the Premier League, where he’ll earn the chance from mid-October with a flurry of fixtures against Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea, but there’s no reason so far for fans to be concerned.