Manchester United just announced the signing of Romelu Lukaku. According to the official website:

"Manchester United is delighted to announce that it has agreed a fee with Everton for the transfer of Romelu Lukaku. The transfer is subject to a medical and personal terms.
A further announcement will be made in due course."

I think this signing will definitely make us more of a threat up front, since scoring goals was a huge problem last season. Another central midfielder signing to adequately replace the losses of Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin would make us title challengers. I still don't think we are title favorites (that honor belongs to Spurs and Liverpool currently), but depending on the transfer window it's still a possibility. The fixture list is in our favor, no doubt and Mourinho has shown that he is capable of rotating the team well enough during times of fixture pile up.

My current strongest line-up is as follows:

Feel free to post your own or comment on how we will fare this season. Oh and sorry Chelsea fans, but Lukaku looks better in red ;)

Drogba in his prime didn't score more goals during a season then Lukaku did for Everton the past few years. Doesn't mean I'm saying Lukaku is the better player overall, but he sure is in terms of EPL goals.

Droga in his prime definatively did score more goals than Lukaku in a season. As I recall it he almost hit the magic 30 a few years back.

@chelsea8:

Drogba only broke the 20-goal barrier twice in all competitions with Chelsea.

33 goals in 60 games as a 29-year-old.
37 goals in 44 games as a 32-year-old.

His next best goal tally at Chelsea was 16 goals in 41 games.... lol. Drogba was not a prolific striker. But his strength and power was mostly what made him difficult to deal with.

Lukaku's goal-per-game ratio these past 2 seasons have been 0.6, so over a goal every two games.

Drogba's goal-per-game ratio throughout his Chelsea career was 0.46. Lukaku's goal scoring prowess becomes even more impressive when you consider that Drogba's Chelsea was clearly a superior team.

One nod in Drogba's favour, however, is that he played with Chelsea until he was 34 years old, so his last two seasons brings his goal average down a bit.

@Dynastian Drogba was not prolific only because of the system that he played in. If I recall correctly, the entirety of Chelsea's squad played a major factor in making the team successful. In addition, Drogba had to always share his spot with Anelka, Malouda, and Kalou, who have scored 10+ goals a season EACH... I don't think you're being fair.

You'll find that Drogba's 29 goals in a season came in 32 appearances under Carlo Ancelotti, and I'm certain that he would've stayed that good had Carlo stuck around.

More than that, Drogba's game is complete. FKs, headers, strength, speed (prime), play making, and most importantly, showing up when it matters the most. Hell, I'd take him over Ronaldo and Messi in the final 10 minutes of the game. So any comparison to Lukaku without the mention of the factors stated above are disrespectful IMHO.

@ juan hahaha yeh i saw that too lmao +1

@madridista spot on! Drogba was not a stat padder and scored mostly when it mattered but some people just look at the stats and think they know the whole story.
It's just like zidane where many midfielders outscored him or assisted more than him but everyone that watched zidane knows that he is the best and in my opinion the best ever.

Lukaku is nowhere near The level of Drogba. It's like comparing Henry with Giroud.

@AlexBatak I don't know if this is harsh for Lukaku or for Giroud. XD

Henry is off the charts... you can't even compare Drogba to Henry. Not sure who got dissed harder though: Giroud or Lukaku LOL.

Just for perspective:

Didier Drogba scored 104 goals in 256 games in the Premier League, supplied by a Chelsea team who have been title contenders nearly every year since Roman took over.

Romelu Lukaku has scored 85 goals in 176 games in the Premier League, for West Brom and Everton.

The math favors Lukaku.

Gary cahill scored more goals than andres iniesta and modric, that means that cahill is a better midfielder than them both.....

Also drogba > henry ;)

@Chelsea8 Yea, I don't think I can back you up on that one... loool

@ madridista which part? The first part was me being sarcastic but the second part was serious.

Yea I know about the sarcastic part, but Drogba vs Henry is a little more complex.

@amir keal i know its a bit far back in the thread but first off this year we have been aiming for a CB, CDM, LW and ST not really what u said!

also if we had signed laca or belotti or morata u would have been saying we would have done better to sign lukaku. Man u isnt the most hated club in the world for nothing!

When Lukaku wins as much trophies as Drogba and when he come near the person Drogba was stopping a civil war. Let me know. As for Drogba vs Henry they are both a Legends and no one can be compared to them simply because they made their own names.

@dyns Really? lol Drogba terrorized all big clubs.

i used to also look at the stats to compare players but now days I have grown up and see that stats is only half of the story . Drogbas mere presence in the team used to elevate team spirit . In the past decade Chelsea had the most balanced team , with so many leaders who complemented each other and were so important that when even one of them was missing things weren't going as good as usual . That is why Chelsea of 2004 -2012 is unique squad and Drogba was unique player of that squad .

Lukaku doesn't have the same power of will and desire . Throwing tantrum to get a spot in the team isn't champions mentality . Playing for Everton and scoring goals haven't really given Everton so much of the edge in the league . Did they finish above 6 ? No . Did they win in big matches due to his goals , I can hardly remember any . If you like to go by stats than I am sure you will find the stat that shows the impact on points and standing those goals brought . You will be surprised. Lukaku is very good but no where near the magnitude Drogba was . Drogba brings you titles and scores when you need him to score . Every time there was a big game and a lot was at stake Drogba would show up and very rarely it was opposite .

@Marcus

It's tough to know how Lukaku will play in those times because with Everton he's never really had a chance. I'm willing to give him benefit of the doubt, for now.

Henry is one of the greatest players of all-time. Players like van Persie or Eto'o or Rooney or Drogba aren't on the same level. They're all great players, but Thierry Henry is right up there as one of the all-time greats.