“He’s not Drogba. Just because he has the same physical attributes as him doesn’t mean he has to play like him.”
Jamie Carragher has dismissed any suggestion that Romelu Lukaku is a similar player to Didier Drogba, saying the Manchester United striker is more like Ruud van Nistelrooy than the Chelsea legend.
Since arriving in English football in 2011, Lukaku has frequently been compared to Drogba, and the Belgian was touted as Drogba’s long-term replacement at Chelsea. However, according to Jamie Carragher, there’s no basis for comparison between the two, and that Van Nistelrooy is a more apt comparison with the current United number nine.
“Sometimes the way we speak about Lukaku is different to how we speak about (Harry) Kane or (Sergio) Aguero,” Carragher said during Monday Night Football’s coverage of Arsenal’s 2-0 win over West Brom.
“Sometimes people want a bit more from Lukaku, because he came through at Chelsea and was a huge presence people thought he was going to replace Drogba. But he’s not like Drogba. Drogba could be man of the match in a game he didn’t score in, he could dominate a whole back four by running channels and overpowering people. Lukaku is more like Ruud van Nistelrooy or Andy Cole. For me, his goalscoring record is phenomenal and will continue to be at Manchester United. The criticisms have to stop, his numbers are so good. He’s like Van Nistelrooy, he’s not Drogba. Just because he has the same physical attributes as him doesn’t mean he has to play like him.”
Van Nistelrooy scored 150 goals in 219 games for United between 2001 and 2006 and all but one of those goals were scored inside the opposition penalty area. The Dutch striker was a goal-poacher supreme, and one of the most prolific goal scorers the Premier League has seen.
Lukaku has six goals in his first six league games since moving to Old Trafford, the first player to achieve that feat since Louis Saha, and, while it’s still early days, he looks like becoming an extremely prolific goal scorer for United.
