Romelu Lukaku: 5 reasons it's too early to write him off

#4 Never underestimate the magic of Pogba

Paul Pogba and Lukaku have a telepathic connection of sorts

Manchester United with Paul Pogba (right before his recent return)

Goals per game: 2.5

Shots per game: 19.5

Average possession: 61.7%

Passes per game: 580

Manchester United without Paul Pogba

Goals per game: 1.6

Shots per game: 11.3

Average possession: 50.6%

Passes per game: 472

The numbers speak for itself. But there are some things that numbers don't convey. Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba are close friends and have an almost telepathic understanding between them.

Paul Pogba is the cog in Mourinho's setup that steadily links the backline with the front. He does it with ease and elegance. There simply is no other Manchester United midfielder who can create so many chances for the strikers to sharpen their blades for.

As soon as Pogba was ruled out with a hamstring problem, the smile on Lukaku's face faded and the goals dried up. On the night of Pogba's return, United sprang back to life and took Newcastle for a 4-1 whooping.

Though Pogba wasn't involved when Lukaku got his goal, Manchester United just becomes a more cohesive unit when Pogba's magic is encompassing them.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Shambhu Ajith