The Belgian striker has been forced to operate out of his usual position but says he is willing to do what it takes for the interim Red Devils’ boss. Romelu Lukaku will play in any position for interim Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The big Belgian bought by the previous boss Jose Mourinho for £75 million ($99m) from Everton in 2017 has seen Marcus Rashford emerge as the Norwegian’s favoured striking option during a run which has brought eight wins from 10 Premier League games.
Lukaku has been consigned to the bench for some of that period and, after starting centrally against Liverpool on Sunday, was forced on to the wing as United reshuffled following an injury to Rashford. But the 25-year-old, who prefers to play as a centre-forward, says he is happy to pitch in anywhere as United look to secure a top-four position.
“Left or right or up front it doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “Playing for this club is an honour and I just try to do my best in whichever position I play in. If it is on the right then I will try to create chances, which I did against Liverpool, and if it is up front then I will try to score goals. At the end of the day I just try and help my team-mates out and try win matches.”
Solskjaer predicted Rashford, 21, would struggle to be available for Wednesday’s league trip to Crystal Palace after being forced to play for most of the 0-0 draw with Liverpool with an ankle problem after United used all their substitutes in the first half. That could mean a return to the central role for Lukaku, who added: “As long as the manager wants to use me I will do my best to help the team out. We have a number of injuries, we have to stay positive, have that positive mentality. We are Manchester United and you have to go wherever we go and win.
“Roy Hodgson will set up his Palace team really well. We know that. We will prepare and we need to recover properly because [Sunday] was a physical game. Tactically and with our preparations we will be ready to go again.”