United can deal with Lukaku exit: Solskjaer

Says the likes of Martial, Rashford and Greenwood will provide the goals

August 09, 2019 10:56 pm | Updated 10:56 pm IST - Manchester

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted on Friday that Manchester United can cope without Romelu Lukaku following the striker’s transfer to Inter Milan, saying that it was time for him to move on despite the lack of a replacement.

Lukaku joined the Serie A club on Thursday, the Premier League’s transfer deadline day, but there was no new arrival to take his place at Old Trafford before the window shut.

“It was time now for Romelu Lukaku to go. I think we got a good deal and he is happy so I think both parties ended that deal as it should be,” Solskjaer told reporters on Friday.

“Romelu was injured for a while this pre-season and he did not participate so I just hope for him he will get a good start at Inter Milan.”

No bad blood

The former Everton star fell out of favour under Solskjaer last season and he was training with the youth team at Anderlecht earlier this week as he tried to force his transfer away from United.

Lukaku’s behaviour was criticised in some quarters but Solskjaer insists there is no bad blood.

“I have always had a good relationship with Rom, open and honest. We have always spoken to each other frankly.

“I have no issue between me and Rom but we are now obviously very happy with who is here.”

While Solskjaer suggested Lukaku’s departure was inevitable, he will still be missed by United as no-one in the current squad comes close to matching his 42 goals in 96 appearances over the last two seasons.

Marcus Rashford is expected to lead the attack in its Premier League opener against Chelsea on Sunday, but there could be more opportunities for 17-year-old Mason Greenwood.

The youngster has impressed in pre-season and his manager expects him to become an integral part of the first-team squad.

Regardless of who features up front, Solskjaer believes there are enough goals in his team to challenge for a place in the top four.

“But for me, I am very confident that we’ll get goals from Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford. Daniel James will create and Jesse Lingard will get more goals too. Mason Greenwood’s pathway would have been a lot more different if we had another forward there.

“I believe Mason is going to be playing and involved a lot and when he is, he’s going to score goals.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.