Former Manchester United star, Lee Sharpe says he has never seen a bad striker that cannot handle the ball as United striker, Romelu Lukaku.
Lukaku is going through one of the toughest periods of his career and has not scored in his last eight appearances for the Red Devils.
Following their Champions League defeat at the hands of the Italian giants, Juventus, on Monday, United boss, Jose Mourinho admitted his first-choice striker was struggling and could drop him for Marcus Rashford during the clash against Everton this weekend.
However, Sharpe has criticized Lukaku’s recent decline in form and says it might be useful for Mourinho to give the striker a rest.
“I’ve never seen a center-forward with such a bad touch,” Metro UK quoted Sharpe as saying.
“If your center-forward can’t hold the ball up, it makes it a very hard game.
“He’s saying he’s played a lot of football at the World Cup and since and that he’s feeling it.
“I think the best thing would be to give him a rest. Send him off on holiday for a couple of weeks.”
Lukaku has also received criticism from former Arsenal and England defender, Martin Keown following the Juventus defeat.
“This is a striker who is blessed with brute strength and electrifying pace,” Keown said in his Sportsmail column.
“He should be roaring like a lion, but on Tuesday he played like a pussycat and not for the first time.
“Lukaku was bullied all night long by Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, the Juventus centre halves. I cannot remember him winning a single contest in the air.
“I do have some sympathy for Lukaku. He was not solely to blame for United’s defeat. Jose Mourinho got his tactics all wrong and his side looked completely ill-prepared to face the Italian champions.
“Lukaku does not seem to enjoy playing as the lone striker. He will not go to press and does not look equipped to make high-intensity runs into the channels time and time again.
“United need to get runners such as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial around Lukaku.
“I want to see him compete and use his height to flick on balls for those two forwards. Most of all, he must work harder.”
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