Manchester United legend Denis Irwin has backed Romelu Lukaku to surpass Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal tally of last season in the current campaign.
Ibrahimovic scored 26 goals in all competitions last term before succumbing to a knee injury in April, which ended his campaign and Manchester United signed Lukaku in the summer.
Manchester United re-signed the Swede too on a one-year contract even though he won’t be able to play at least until the end of the year, but his presence has not been missed because of Lukaku’s performances.
The Belgian has already netted eleven goals in the current campaign and Irwin admits that when Ibrahimovic returns to the fold, the Swede could be forced to play a different role in a few games as Lukaku looks indispensable.
And the former defender believes the ex-Everton man is in line to surpass Ibrahimovic’s tally of 26 goals last season.
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Irwin said on MUTV’s Paddy Crerand Show: “It will be really interesting as wherever Zlatan plays he’s the main man.
“He is capable of playing at number ten as the amount of times he dropped deep last year and he is capable of playing that role.
“He will give the manager another option and there was an overreliance on Zlatan when he scored 26.
“And I feel if Lukaku stays fit he will surpass that.”
