Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists Romelu Lukaku is still a key member of his Manchester United squad despite favouring Marcus Rashford as his first-choice striker.
Lukaku has been forced to settle for a bit-part role in Solskjaer’s opening five Premier League games, playing just 74 minutes since Jose Mourinho’s departure.
Meanwhile, Rashford has seized his opportunity in a central role, scoring four goals already during Solskjaer’s short interim reign.
Nonetheless, the Norwegian caretaker boss claims £75million signing Lukaku remains an important figure at the club.
“He’s a big part of the squad, definitely, with his personality around the place,” Solskjaer said ahead of Saturday’s visit of Brighton, live on talkSPORT2.
“There’s no one scoring as many goals as him in training.
“There are the three who play the most [Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard] but then you’ve got Rom, you’ve got Juan (Mata), you’ve got Alexis (Sanchez), so I’ve got a front six I can rotate with and Rom is definitely going to be playing games.”
It is a month since the Old Trafford hierarchy called time on Mourinho’s turbulent tenure, with background backbiting compounding on-field struggles.
Few were sad to see the Portuguese go and the former manager spoke in-depth for the first time on Thursday, when he told beIN SPORTS that “in modern football there is a problem between the coach and the player”.
Solskjaer does not appear to have encountered such problems such his arrival, getting United playing with swagger and the team with a smile.
Asked if modern players need to be treated differently, the Norwegian said: “I think so. Times are changing.
“I’m old enough to have worked with older players than me and older managers, so I know that type of player and that type of management school.
“But I’m young enough and I’ve got kids, I’ve got an 18-year-old myself, and I’ve worked with young players back home. It is a different era.
“Those values, beliefs and principles don’t change.”