Roy Keane gives his verdict on Mourinho's United... and sets Romelu Lukaku a goal target

United strolled to a 4-1 win against CSKA Moscow as they took a giant leap towards the knock-out stages of Europe’s elite competition, with the club’s former captain impressed by the huge progress made by Jose Mourinho’s side this season.

Keane has been highly critical of United in the four years since Alex Ferguson retired as the club’s manager, but this is his most glowing endorsement yet of the team Mourinho is piecing together.

“United are back,” declared ITV Sport pundit Keane. “They look like they could be ready to win the big trophies, whereas over the last year or two you look at them and thing they might win a League Cup or the so-called lesser trophies.

“They are back now competing and you would expect United to be in the latter stages of the Champions League and you would expect them to be competing to win the Premier League.”

Keane offered up a glowing endorsement of in-form striker Lukaku, who scored his ninth and tenth goals of his United career in just his eighth game for the club in Moscow.

“He is a good player, at a good age 24 and he was a bargain at £75m,” declared Keane. “He was always going to score goals in the Premier League, speaks well and comes across as a decent character.

You look at his record at Everton and it was fantastic, but he has gone to a much bigger club and to a team that will create so many chances for him. He is going to get 25-30 goals this season.”

Despite Keane’s positive words, he did offer this note of caution to Lukaku: “He has done great so far, but the big test for them is still to come for him. Man United have played nobody yet and even though you can only beat what is put in front of you, the bigger tests will come.

“The top United scorers have scored goals that really matter down the years and he has to deliver in the big games. It’s to score when your team are 1-0 or 2-0 up, but you need to do it in the crunch games.”