Juan Mata believes Romelu Lukaku is on course to be as good as Didier Drogba.
Lukaku is preparing for a tough reception at Stamford Bridge this afternoon after turning down a chance to re-sign for the Blues this summer.
In fact, it’s an even bigger match for the Belgian star after United boss Jose Mourinho jumped to his defence last weekend when Old Trafford supporters groaned as he missed chances.
But Lukaku has still scored 16 goals for club and country already this season and Mata insists his quality was never in doubt – even at Stamford Bridge.
“Lukaku is a sensational striker and I don’t think what he is doing is a surprise to people in football,” said the midfielder who played alongside Lukaku eight times when they were both in London.
“This kid always demonstrated that he had talent to exploit. Even at Chelsea you could see his tremendous quality and his ambition to score goals.
“This year he is proving it and doing it. He’s still young but he’s very similar in style to Drogba, no doubt about it, and has great potential.”
Being compared to Drogba will be music to the ears of a player who made no secret of his admiration for the Ivory Coast legend when he first arrived in west London from Anderlecht in 2011. And Mata (celebrating with Drogba below) says he can have the same impact on United that Drogba had on the Blues.
“It’s not just his style that is similar,” said Mata. “Didi was very charismatic in Chelsea, very important for the team, and Lukaku can be the same. He’s going in the right way. I really expect big things from him this season.”
Having turned down a return to Stamford Bridge in favour of a £75millon move to Old Trafford in the summer, Lukaku’s career is on a upward spiral.
“He’s been amazing,” said Mata. “He has the belief of the manager who has brought the best out of him. For me Mourinho is one of the best coaches in the world and his dialogue with his players is the basis of that.”
And Mata insists that Jose Mourinho’s men are not daunted by the prospect of trying to haul in Pep Guardiola’s imperious Manchester City.
“Winning the Premier League is what we all want – and what I would love,” said the 29-year-old. “I have been here a few years now and we have won four trophies since I came. But I would love to win a Premier League for United.
“The reaction from the fans when we won the FA Cup and Europa League was incredible. So just imagining them celebrating winning the Premier League gives me goosebumps. Hopefully we can do it for them.”
United got their title challenge back on track by beating Tottenham last weekend after a draw at Liverpool and a shock defeat at Huddersfield that had Mourinho raging.
Home-and-away victories over Benfica have also taken the Reds to the brink of qualifying for the knock-out stages of the Champions League.
But United now trail rivals City by five points in the Premier League.
Mata admitted: “I would prefer that City were not in the position they are in. But you also have to think about yourself because, if not, you don’t win your games.
“If you care too much about what others do then you don’t focus on what you have to do. It doesn’t matter if City lose if you don’t win, so you have to do certain things first - and that means thinking about us.
“We know what happened at Huddersfield, but I have seen the manager that angry a few times. He hates to lose - so every time his teams lose he gets angry. It is normal.
“It was one of those days. We as players were angry about our performance as well. It is easy to show it when you win, but we need to show we are a team when we lose. We have done that in our last three games.”
And United need Lukaku to rediscover his shooting boots.
The Belgian striker has endured a six-game drought after scoring 11 goals in his first 10 games since his move from Everton.
Mata said: “Romelu has a strong character. He has been playing at a very high level since he was very, very young. when we played together at Chelsea.
“I am sure it is only a matter of time. It is the same with Morata, who was scoring a lot and now he isn’t.”
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