Jose Mourinho urged to make risky decision on Manchester United summer signing

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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has been advised by former Arsenal defender Martin Keown to drop Romelu Lukaku in favour of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Gunners legend has made the controversial statement of calling Lukaku a ‘pussycat’ and has slammed him for scoring just one goal in his last ten games for the Red Devils.

Lukaku started superbly for United since his summer switch from Everton, but has gone badly off the boil recently, drawing another blank in a scrappy 1-0 win over Brighton at the weekend.

Keown has now all but branded the Belgian a failure at Old Trafford, saying he hasn’t been able to come in and do the job asked of him, and that Ibrahimovic is more the kind of character they can rely on.

‘If Jose Mourinho wants to get Romelu Lukaku firing again, he needs his £75million striker to reach boiling point,’ Keown told the Daily Mail.

Romelu Lukaku has hit a recent goal drought for Manchester United

‘I am not talking about a petulant reaction to a penalty-box wrestle with an opponent, but rather his performance.

‘It might be the right moment to leave him out against Watford on Tuesday. Lukaku has scored a single goal in his last 10 games in all competitions. Give him some space so that he comes back an angry man, with some fight and determination.

‘I have described Lukaku as a pussycat, whereas Manchester United want a lion on display (and we all know which animal Zlatan Ibrahimovic likes to compare himself to).

Zlatan Ibrahimovic should replace Romelu Lukaku in the United XI, says Martin Keown

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‘It is about how you get Lukaku to that stage. He was bought to lead the line and score the goals to win the title. That isn’t happening.’

While it’s easy to see where Keown is coming from, Ibrahimovic has just returned from a lengthy injury and is no longer at the peak of his career, with leading the line for United on a regular basis surely too much to ask from him.

The Swede could shine as a squad player, but Lukaku is surely the man who needs to be given that central striker spot and shown the trust in him to make a success of it.

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