Belgian striker, Romelu Lukaku has been relegated to a bench role for teammate Marcus Rashford as the first choice striker for Manchester United this season.
United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has reportedly made the key decision that academy graduate Marcus Rashford will continue to be his main striker at Old Trafford this season ahead of £75m signing Romelu Lukaku.
Lukaku was unavailable for Solskjaer’s first two games as interim boss either side of Christmas, handing the opportunity to Rashford, who then kept his place upon the Belgian’s return. Lukaku has come off the bench to score in both of United’s last two Premier League games and netted when Rashford was rested in the FA Cup against Reading. But a report from the Daily Star claims that Solskjaer has decided the younger of the two will continue to lead the line.
It is alleged that the Norwegian coach has held talks with Rashford during the club’s warm weather training camp in Dubai this week, making it ‘clear’ to the England star that he is the preferred choice over Lukaku in that central role. The tabloid report even goes as far to claim that Rashford, who was often played out wide under the leadership of former manager Jose Mourinho, has been told it is ‘his job to lose’.
Solskjaer recently spoke very highly of Rashford and his ‘number nine’ credentials. “He gets kicked, he gets tackled, he goes for headers, he wins, he challenges, he runs. He is going to be a top, top number nine, definitely,” the Old Trafford legend said of Rashford after the important Premier League win over Newcastle earlier this month.
