Manchester United News: Romelu Lukaku can become as great as Wayne Rooney - Jesse Lingard

Lukaku goes head-to-head with Rooney on Sunday for the first time since the two strikers swapped clubs in the summer.

Rooney won every major honour in his 13 years with United and became the club’s all-time record scorer with 253 goals before rejoining Everton in the £90m deal that saw Lukaku move in the opposite direction.

But Lingard reckons 24-year-old Lukaku can have a similar impact after a blistering start to the season with 10 goals in eights games for club and country – six for United and four for Belgium.

Lukaku has now scored 111 goals in club football for West Brom, Everton and United in the last five years and Lingard thinks he can only improve that strike rate at Old Trafford.

“I’m not surprised how quickly he has settled because we saw what he did last year and what he did for Everton,” he said. “He scored a lot of goals for them and now he is carrying on his form here which is great for us.

“He holds the ball up well but he also runs in behind defences, he’s very strong in the box and he is very good with his head, so he gives a lot of options for the man on the ball.

“The potential is there for him to become as big an icon here as Wazza. Rom’s a very nice lad, he’s got his feet on the ground, he doesn’t let anything faze him. And as long as he keeps scoring the goals he is going to make the headlines and impress people along the way.”

Lingard, who was an 11-year-old in the academy when Rooney joined in 2004, is sure he will receive a great reception from United fans who will show their appreciation for what he did for the club.

“He will get a very good reception,” he added. “He’s always going to be recognised as a legend at the club and we will always welcome him back and respect him.

“Obviously he was at Everton as a young boy and he felt it was the right decision to go back. You could say he has got unfinished business there but Rom’s has come in and we are focused on playing with him now.”

Asked what he learned from Rooney, Lingard said: “You learn every day from legends like him. It was his experience in games. When you are winning 1-0 it is always hard to manage the game but he knew what to do on those occasions, especially towards the end of games.”

Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford says his battle with Anthony Martial for a place alongside Lukaku is bringing the best out of both of them.