Mourinho Tells Lukaku To shine

September 15,2017

Mourinho tells  Romelu Lukaku to shine against his former club as early Premier League pace-setters Manchester United host Everton at Old Trafford on Sunday, Lukaku United’s league record had been perfect until they were held to a 2-2 draw at Stoke last Saturday, although the disappointment of conceding twice was mitigated by the impressive scoring form of Lukaku and Marcus Rashford.

Lukaku is now ready to succeed at the top level according to his manager, unlike in 2011 when he joined Chelsea from Anderlecht. “I think Romelu has come here at the right moment,” Mourinho said.

“He is a good age. He has a good number of years of experience with different clubs in the Premier League. He is clearly a player who has adapted to the Premier League. “He has good friends already in the dressing room and has had an easy integration into our group.

So I think he has come at the right moment of his career.” Lukaku’s strong start to life at Old Trafford, he has six goals in six games for United, will help to offset the absence of France midfielder Paul Pogba, who may be out for several weeks. Pogba’s hamstring injury, sustained in the early stages of Tuesday’s 3-0 Champions League victory over Basel, will certainly keep him out of Sunday’s match, and there is no guarantee that he will be available for France’s decisive World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Belarus in October.

Manchester United, who started the weekend on top of the Premier League after collecting 10 points from their opening four matches. Phil Jones and Eric Bailly are set to return in central defence, having missed the win over Basel through suspension, while Antonio Valencia should be restored at right-back, having made way on Tuesday as Ashley Young played for the first time since recovering from a summer operation on a hamstring problem.