Romelu Lukaku to start? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hints at Man Utd selection after impressing in training

On form: Romelu Lukaku
Action Images via Reuters

Romelu Lukaku is leaving his Manchester United strike rivals in his wake as he pushes for a first Premier League start under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Belgium international is desperate to be recalled to the point of United’s attack against Brighton on Saturday and has underlined that by out-scoring team-mates Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Alexis Sanchez in training.

Solskjaer has so far preferred Rashford to Lukaku, with the England international scoring four goals in five starts, including the winner against Tottenham last weekend.

But Lukaku is piling the pressure on United’s interim manager to restore him to the centre forward’s role with his lethal form at the club’s Carrington training ground.

“There’s no one scoring as many goals as him in training,” said Solskjaer. “He’s a big part of the squad, definitely, with his personality around the place.

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“There are the three who play the most, but then you’ve got Rom, you’ve got Juan (Mata), you’ve got Alexis, so I’ve got a front six I can rotate with and Rom is definitely going to be playing games.”

Solskjaer has stripped back Lukaku’s game, ordering him to stop playing with his back to goal as instructed by Jose Mourinho.

It has already had an impact on the £75m striker’s form – seeing him score in three of his four games under the Norwegian.

Lukaku’s desperation to impress Solskjaer is evidence of the fierce competition for a place in United’s reinvigorated attack.

Rashford remains in pole position as the preferred option up front, but Lukaku and Sanchez are determined to force their way into his thinking after the club’s fortunes have been transformed since Mourinho’s departure.

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Sanchez was so intent on making an impact that he suffered a fresh injury setback when returning from a torn hamstring ahead of schedule.

Solskjaer claimed the Chilean should have been more honest about his fitness, but assured his forwards they will all get their chances.

“I used to be one of four strikers when we played with two,” he said. “Now we have six forwards and we play with three most of the time.

“We’ll be able to rotate and there’s enough games and playing time. It’s about taking the chances when you get them, and to be fair, Rom has scored three already and Marcus has scored three.

“Paul (Pogba) has scored four since I came here. It’s up to the strikers to take them.”

Sanchez is in contention to play against Brighton after returning to training this week.

He made his first start under Solskjaer in the FA Cup third round win against Reading earlier this month – but had to miss Spurs due to a hamstring strain.

“He is a player who loves to play football,” added Solskjaer. “You want to play football and he's been hindered by injury.

“I know how frustrating that can be and how eager you are to get back. Maybe in the Reading game, maybe he should have told me at half time, ‘I need to come off now,’ because maybe the 15 or 20 minutes in the second half, maybe that was a bit too much for him and gave him a setback.

“He's champing at the bit. He’s working hard in training.

“His attitude has been fantastic in training and he wants to play, so for me I'm looking forward to seeing him, and I've got loads of good players to choose from.”

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