MANCHESTER UNITED boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does NOT want Romelu Lukaku to be a target – unlike predecessor Jose Mourinho.
Manchester United star Lukaku was introduced by Solskjaer against Bournemouth on Sunday, returning to the fold having missed wins over Cardiff and Huddersfield.
The Belgium international has had his critics this season having failed to impress under Jose Mourinho.
Against Bournemouth, however, Lukaku found the net for Manchester United after a Paul Pogba brace and Marcus Rashford finish.
Some have been wondering what the future holds for him in the wake of Mourinho’s exit.
He is, by United’s standards, not a conventional No 9.
But that did not stop Mourinho from forking out a huge £75million to sign him from Everton in 2017.
Under the Portuguese, Lukaku was often a target man.
Balls would often go long to the powerhouse and, as a result, the football at Old Trafford was far from pretty.
But Solskjaer has now revealed he wants to alter Lukaku’s role.
“At times he’s a good target man,” Solskjaer said after United’s stirring Bournemouth win.
“But if you tell him to be a target man he’ll never face the goal.
“Today [Sunday] he was side-on and he’s got the attributes of a top, top striker.
“We need to work on his fitness, but I’m delighted.
“Even though he was half a yard offside [for his goal], it was a good finish.”
Lukaku could feature when United face Newcastle on January 2.
The Red Devils will be hoping for a repeat of earlier this season, where they edged Rafa Benitez’s side 3-2 in a entertaining contest at Old Trafford.
Source:www.express.co.uk