Jose: Luk on the bright side
BY DAVID McDONNELL JOSE MOURINHO has backed Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial to fill the void left by injured Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgian, United’s top scorer this season with 27 goals, is out of their trip to Brighton tonight after the 2-1 win against Arsenal.
The forward should be fit for the FA Cup Final against Chelsea a fortnight tomorrow but Mourinho said he trusts Rashford and Martial to deliver in his absence.
He said: “They’ve had limited opportunities as Romelu has played all the games this season.
“He was playing well, was playing the way I wanted him to play, had no injuries and no suspensions. But I do trust them, no problem.”
Lukaku is to undergo further scans to determine the full extent of his injury but Mourinho said he was positive the £75million striker will be fit to face his former club at Wembley.
He said: “I just know that of course he can’t play against Brighton. Apart from that we need to wait for more scans, more time. But it looks positive.”
Mourinho is confident Marouane Fellaini, out of contract this summer, will sign an extension and said United had upped their offer in a bid to ensure the midfielder stays.
The Portuguese gaffer said: “It doesn’t frustrate me, it’s football. If there were no offers then we could say the club let it go until now.
“But he had offers and in a progressive way.
“The offer he has now on the table is a better offer than he had six months ago or eight months ago.
“It’s a process, it’s his decision and we have to respect that.”