Romelu Lukaku: How Manchester United’s number 9 compares to other strikers in the Premier League
By Ali Akbar
Seven games into the 2018-19 Premier League season, we compare the attacking output of Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku with other top-6 strikers to determine where he ranks among the best.
Everybody seems to have an opinion about our Belgian scoring genius.
Is Romelu Lukaku a world beater or a donkey? Didier Drogba reincarnated or Emile Heskey? Should we have signed Alvara Morata instead? Let’s dispell the myths by looking at the stats to see just how good – or bad – our talisman is, as provided by BBC Sport.
Disclaimer: we will only be comparing Lukaku to other traditional strikers – so don’t expect to see any Eden Hazards or Mo Salahs below.
Romelu Lukaku
Age: 25
Height: 6 ft 3
Club: Manchester United
National team: Belguim
Starting off with our own, Lukaku has got off to a good start in the 2018-19 season. With 4 goals so far, he is joint 3rd in the race for the golden boot, averaging a goal every 141 minutes. However, he failed to contribute anything in the 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, fueling concerns that he may continue his woeful form against top-6 opposition from last season. Nevertheless, with an upcoming game against his old club Chelsea later on in October, Lukaku has a chance to prove he can score against any opponent. We’ll just have to wait and see…
Sergio Aguero
Age: 30
Height: 5 ft 8
Club: Manchester City
National team: Argentina
Agonisingly brilliant to watch as an opposition fan, Kun Aguero has caused United fans much misery over the years (Martin Tyler’s commentary all those years ago still gives me PTSD). The Argentine is joint 2nd in the race for the golden boot with 5 goals – one every 103 minutes. What’s more is that he has 2 assists to Lukaku’s 0, showing just how much there is to his game. There is just no denying forward’s quality, and he will certainly go down as one of the best players to ever play in England. Lukaku would be lucky to have half the career Aguero has had in the blue half of Manchester…
Roberto Firmino
Age: 27
Height: 5 ft 11
Club: Liverpool
National team: Brazil
Moving onto another rival’s centre-forward, Firmino isn’t exactly your traditional target man – and it shows in his stats. With just 2 goals so far, it is safe to say he isn’t exactly going to challenge Lukaku and the others for the Golden Boot. However, the Brazilian can be forgiven for his low output due to his intense work rate and overall contribution to his side’s attacking play (Sadio Mane and Mo Salah have much to thank him for).
Alvaro Morata
Age: 25
Height: 6 ft 2
Club: Chelsea
National team: Spain
Now, we could have included Olivier Giroud instead of Morata on this list. However, it doesn’t really matter, as both have been pretty woeful in the goals department at Chelsea. The Spaniard himself has only scored a single goal this season and may have to spend the rest of the season on the bench in favour of Giroud – which is saying something. I think it’s safe to say we dodged a bullet with this one.
Harry Kane
Age: 25
Height: 6 ft 2
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
National team: England
Two-time Premier League AND current World Cup Golden Boot holder. Is there any more to say? We’ll add that he his level with Aguero with 5 goals so far this season for an average of a goal per 126 minutes. If Lukaku cost us £75m how much would the Englishman be worth? Settle down Romelu, you won’t be winning this fight…
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Age: 29
Height: 6 ft 2
Club: Arsenal
National team: Gabon
Since joining the Gunners in January from Borussia Dortmund, the French-born star has got off to a flying start in North London, scoring 10 goals in 13 appearances last season. This season, however, has been a different story for the poacher, who has only managed 2 goals in 7 games. Nevertheless, we’re confident he’ll regain his form soon – although this may change if manager Unai Emery decides to bench him in favour of Alexandre Lacazette.
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Verdict
Although it’s too early to determine how Lukaku will fare for the remainder of the season, for now, he appears to have hit the ground rolling. However, our star man will need to be more consistent if he is to win the Golden Boot come the end of the season. If I was to put my money on someone, it would have to be Kane to net his 3rd. Let’s hope the big Belgian proves me wrong.