Michael Carrick’s retirement at the end of last season means that Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho will need to appoint a new club captain for the 2018-19 campaign.
Antonio Valencia skippered the Red Devils for long stages of last term, while the likes of Chris Smalling, Paul Pogba and David de Gea also sported the armband. It has been suggested that Valencia could be promoted to permanent captain this summer, but Mourinho should be seriously looking at Romelu Lukaku.
The 25-year-old gave the latest demonstration of his leadership qualities before Belgium’s 2018 World Cup clash with Panama on Monday afternoon. Eden Hazard is the skipper of Roberto Martinez’s side, but it was Lukaku who led the team in their pre-match huddle.
Lukaku went on to score twice as Belgium opened their Group G campaign with a 3-0 win. The forward has now netted 27 goals in his last 28 matches at international level, and will be looking to inspire his country in Russia.
Lukaku entered this summer’s competition off the back of scoring 27 times in 51 appearances during his first season at United. Eyebrows were raised when the Red Devils paid Everton £75m for his services, but there were no signs that the former Anderlecht youngster was overawed with the pressure at Old Trafford.
In fact, it was quite the opposite. Lukaku relished the role of ‘sergeant’ at United as he quickly became the focal point of the team. Once discarded by Chelsea, Lukaku had bounced back to become the main striker for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“I think the work-rate I am delivering to the team is a lot and he (Mourinho) knows he can come to me whenever. I will always put the team first ahead of myself and that’s something I told him, I said ‘the team is the most important thing’,” Lukaku said last season.
Meanwhile, back in September, Mourinho paid tribute to Lukaku’s willingness to make sacrifices in order to reach the highest level. The Portuguese also hailed the centre-forward’s off-the-field conduct when describing his importance.
“I think every step in his [Lukaku’s] career he grabbed it [the opportunity] with both hands. It was always his dream to come to this level and since he arrived I don’t think he thinks about another thing than in his success so he works hard, he rests, he has a great professional life outside the football pitch,” said Mourinho.
When it comes to sacrifice and overcoming the odds, Lukaku knows it better than most. Indeed, the Belgian recently wrote about his childhood and struggles for the Players’ Tribune; detailing the inner strength that has seen him rise from a bit-part player with Anderlecht Under-19s to the 20-time English champions.
"I played with so much anger, because of a lot of things. Because the rats running around in our apartment. Because I couldn't watch the Champions League. Because of how the other parents used to look at me,” wrote Lukaku.
Lukaku got into double figures for a season as a 16-year-old at Anderlecht, and left the Belgian club having scored 41 goals in 98 first-team appearances. He will not turn 26 until next May, but continues to set scoring records for Belgium, and is now one of the most famous strikers in world football.
Valencia might be the favourite to be United’s new captain, but the full-back only speaks broken English despite a long period in the Premier League. Lukaku, on the other hand, is fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish, in addition to his native French and Dutch, and can also understand German.
The striker only joined United last summer, but he is a well-respected figure in the dressing room, and his performances on the field for long stages of last season showed that he has the character to play for the Red Devils. His goal record was impressive, but his overall work also came on leaps and bounds in the second half of the campaign.
United missed his goal threat badly in the FA Cup final against Chelsea, and he was simply not fit when entering as a late substitute. More than that though, United just simply missed Lukaku; they missed his presence, his work-rate and his leadership qualities, which continue to go from strength to strength.
De Gea is also believed to be in the mix for the armband, but handing a goalkeeper the captaincy can sometimes take something away from the players on the field. Pogba has also been mentioned as a potential skipper, but the French midfielder does not need any further distractions at the moment.
Smalling, meanwhile, will not be guaranteed of a spot in the team next season if a new centre-back – as expected – joins the club. There is no obvious option for the armband next term, which makes the decision a very interesting one.
Nemanja Matic might also be in with a shout, but Lukaku is without question the long-term option for the Red Devils. Some will claim that the Belgian would struggle with the weight of expectation that comes with being United captain, but he has faced far worse in his life and come out the other side.
“I knew we were struggling. But when she (his mother) was mixing in water with the milk, I realised it was over, you know what I mean? This was our life,” Lukaku said when discussing his difficult childhood.
United’s preparations for the 2018-19 campaign will be impacted by the World Cup. Indeed, players will need to be given time off following this summer’s competition, and if Lukaku can lead Belgium into the final stages of the tournament then he will join up with the United squad at a later point.
The Red Devils open their new Premier League season against Leicester City in August, and Mourinho should give serious thought to handing Lukaku the honour of leading the team down the tunnel. A calming presence off the field but a monster on it, Lukaku is the perfect candidate for United.
