The Herald (Zimbabwe)

Mourinho mocks Wenger again

- - The Daily Express.

LONDON. - Jose Mourinho has mocked Arsene Wenger’s decision to sign striker Alexandre Lacazette with Manchester United saying the striker has “no stamina, no physical impact and is not a big-game player.”

The United manager spent six months scouting the France internatio­nal with a view to taking him to Old Trafford - but Mourinho decided the player was not lethal enough in front of goal and chose to sign Romelu Lukaku instead.

Lacazette (26) has now joined Arsenal from Lyon in a club-record deal worth £52million, with Wenger watching him score 100 goals in 203 league appearance­s for Lyon.

But a United source said: “Lacazette was followed because he was top scorer in French football - but a lot of his goals were penalties (10 of his 27 goals last season came from the spot).

“In the end he wasn’t considered because he has no stamina, no physical impact and isn’t a big game player.” Lacazatte was quickly ruled out as a viable candidate.

Instead Mourinho believes Lukaku can establish himself as a world class centre forward in the mould of Didier Drogba and Diego Costa.

The 24-year-old Belgian has proved himself a prolific goal-scorer in the Premier League, with only Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane scoring more than him over the past three seasons.

Manchester United completed their signing of Lukaku from Everton on Monday night in a £100m deal, with Wayne Rooney travelling in the opposite direction.

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