New Manchester United captain Michael Carrick says forward Romelu Lukaku needs to adjust quickly to the pressure of playing for the Red Devils, after Lukaku played the second half of their first pre-season friendly against LA Galaxy, in which United won 5-2.
How big is a move to Manchester United?
In an interview with newspaper the Guardian, Carrick was quick to emphasise to the media the amount of pressure Lukaku has on him.
Carrick knows exactly how the Belgian striker feels as he was the subject of an expensive move from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006. After Wayne Rooney’s recent departure to Everton, Carrick is now the longest serving player at the club.
“The jump is massive” said Carrick. “I found myself coming from Tottenham. It’s a massive jump. You can’t really explain to people until they’ve gone through it. I’m sure he’ll find the same. But having Premier League experience is a massive bonus. He’ll know how things work week to week. It’s just about dealing with the pressure”.
Brought in to score
“It’s early days," United’s new captain went on to say after Lukaku failed to find the net on his debut.
“It’s one week's training and 45 minutes against Galaxy so you can’t come to any conclusions. We know what he is all about, there are no surprises. We all know exactly what he brings and that is why he is here. He is not going to change his game just because he has to come here.”
Lukaku scored 25 goals in the Premier League last year and got six assists. “He does what he does” said Carrick. “He does what he does best and obviously he’s been brought here to score goals. I am pretty certain he will do that this season.”
Carrick was very reluctant to compare Lukaku with Zlatan Ibrahimovic who scored 28 goals for Jose Mourinho’s side last year. “Ibra was terrific for us, but Rom is his own man” he said. He’ll be judged like anyone else on what he does throughout the season and I’m sure he’s ready for that. The scrutiny will go up a level from what he’s used to. I’m sure he’s prepared for that and I’m sure he’ll do well.”