José Mourinho has hailed Romelu Lukaku as a 'top player' but insists the £75m striker must still prove his worth in the Champions League. The Manchester United manager spoke ahead of Thursday's friendly against Manchester City in Houston, where the Belgian scored his first goal for the club earlier this week.
Lukaku, 24, has netted 85 Premier League goals since 2012 but has never featured in Europe's elite competition. 'You have to prove it at the highest level,' Mourinho said. 'He has to do it for United, in Champions League matches, but he has amazing qualities.' The Portuguese compared Lukaku's development since their time together at Chelsea.
The United boss is still seeking reinforcements, ideally an attacker and a defensive midfielder, but admitted the market has become tougher. He pointed to Manchester City's £45m fee for Kyle Walker as an example. 'The option is to pay or not,' he said. 'Now everybody pays big amounts for good players.'
Mourinho also addressed the future of Marcus Rashford, who scored 12 goals last season. 'I don't think Marcus is a number 10,' the manager said. 'He's a pure attacking player.' Rashford himself is placing more pressure on himself to improve this coming campaign.
With four injured players including Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw, Mourinho acknowledged his squad is not as deep as it appears. He remains hopeful of adding at least one more signing before the transfer window closes, with Inter Milan's Ivan Perišić a likely target.
