Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed striker Romelu Lukaku will not play against Inter Milan in Singapore on Saturday.
Inter are keen on the Belgian but are yet to meet United’s valuation of the player, who cost them £75m to sign from Everton two years ago.
Lukaku missed both United’s tour matches in Australia due to injury and Solskjaer says he will remain absent.
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“He’s not fit. He won’t be available,” said the United boss.
And when pressed on Lukaku’s future at the club, Solskjaer said he had “no more updates”.
‘Glimpses of the new Martial’
In his press conference, Solksjaer also praised forward Anthony Martial’s work rate and said his attitude in pre-season training had been “absolutely spot on”.
The 23-year-old Frenchman scored 10 goals in 27 Premier League appearances last season, including two against Chelsea in October.
But Solksjaer said there have been “glimpses of the new Anthony” and expects a better 2019-20 season.
“Anthony can be a world-class forward,” said Solksjaer. “There’s a couple of glimpses of the new Anthony the way he works for the team. He has got the talent and his work rate is improving.
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“I expect him and Marcus [Rashford] to be even better than last season. Anthony had a top season when he came, [and was] top scorer, then he has had a couple of seasons where he’s not hit the same amount of goals and quality, so I think it will be a better Anthony this year.”
Improving on last season
Midfielder Nemanja Matic, who joined Solksjaer in the press conference in Singapore, was critical of United’s performance in the Premier League last season.
The Serbian said the team had failed to achieve their target of securing a Champions League spot and Matic admitted he was “not happy” at the end of the campaign.
“It was not a good season for all of us,” said Matic. “This season we have to do better, do more, because playing for Manchester United, you have to fight for trophies.
“We know that very well so we expect this season to be better. I’m sure we’ll be ready for the challenge. Last season I had some problems with injuries but I was not happy with my form.
“We finished the season and I was not happy but this season I start with the team and we will see. At the moment, I feel great and will continue to train hard to help the team.”
Solskjaer said he expected this season to be “closer” and he doesn’t think Manchester City and Liverpool will finish on 98 and 97 points again.
“The Premier League is a very competitive league and those teams last season were exceptional to get 97 and 98 points,” said Solskjaer.
“Six teams want Champions League places and want to win the league but we have to focus on ourselves, be better, improve, make sure United is our only focus and get closer to the top.”
The Norwegian also spoke about the important of starting the season well and said the coaching staff have “worked the players hard” in Perth and Singapore.
“I don’t think many players have had a pre-season like this before. For Nemanja [Matic] it’s a first pre-season in a little while. In the first eight to 10 games you can lose the chance to win so the first two months are vital.”
Source: BBC
