Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku has issued a rebuttal to his critics, urging people not to judge him as the finished article.
Belgium striker Lukaku came flying out of the blocks when he made the switch to Old Trafford from Everton in a £75million deal in the close-season, scoring 11 times in his opening 10 appearances.
However, since then Lukaku has gone six matches in all competitions without a goal, and manager Jose Mourinho has been on the warpath with the club's supporters after interpreting boos from some of the Old Trafford faithful when he replaced Marcus Rashford with match-winner Anthony Martial during last week's 1-0 win over Tottenham as a lack of support for Lukaku.
The imminent return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic is only sure to increase the scrutiny on his performances, but Lukaku says it is important for his critics to realise he still has plenty to learn.
"I think a lot of people are judging me as the finished article," Lukaku told Sky Sports.
"I'm 24 - you can't judge me as the finished article. I'd rather have a year where I improve, improve, improve rather than going straight to the top and then declining.
"I know I have a lot of talent. I can do a lot of stuff, score goals with my left, right and head. But I want to be a creator - I want to have more assists. I want to make sure when my team is having difficulties they can count on me.
"I'm on the perfect stage and the perfect age. I want to be a winner and take my career to the next level."
