Jose Mourinho reckons that his £75m striker is in poor form because of his boots.
Romelu Lukaku started the campaign in brilliant form for Manchester United, and has a respectable record of eight goals from 14 Premier League games so far this season. However, the Belgian striker has only scored once in his last 11 games, and couldn’t find the net against Watford on Tuesday night – despite being presented with an open goal in the second-half.
There are a couple of theories for why Lukaku is struggling. Rio Ferdinand reckons he is worried about Zlatan Ibrahimovic taking his spot and this has negatively affected his form.
It could be argued that Lukaku has struggled within the framework of Mourinho’s tactics in some games, particularly against Spurs and Liverpool earlier this season when he was devoid of service.
Even the most ardent United fan will admit that the Belgian forward doesn’t have a great first touch or close control. He needs balls in behind a defence and the service hasn’t always been available over the last two months or so – especially after Paul Pogba suffered an injury and Henrik Mkhitaryan great form disappeared.
Others might argue that Lukaku is simply going through a poor spell, and it happens to all forwards. He just needs to keep working hard and the goals will come. Maybe it’s a combination of all these issues.
However, Mourinho isn’t buying any of those theories, and has said his striker is struggling because:
“He doesn’t have a boot deal, playing in black boots… needs a big new boot deal to score.”
Mourinho says Lukaku not finishing because "he doesn't have a boot deal, playing in black boots… needs a big new boot deal to score"
Laughs when it's put to him whether it'll be New Balance.
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) November 28, 2017
Jose on @RomeluLukaku9 "He needs a big contract with boots. He needs a brand to give him the right boots." Confirms he is wearing black boots: "He finished the deal. He is waiting for the right offer."
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) November 28, 2017
Mourinho gave the quote to reporters following the 4-2 win over Watford.
While a great player would score in any pair of boots, you can understand why the United manager said it. He wants to deflect from Lukaku’s poor form and doesn’t want to criticise him. It’s highly unlikely that he believes the Belgian’s poor form is down to his choice of footwear.
