Manchester United's Romelu Lukaku 'nowhere near the finished article', says Tony Cascarino

Former Chelsea forward Tony Cascarino does not think Romelu Lukaku is close to being the 'finished article' and feels Manchester United need more than just the former Everton hitman in order to challenge for the Premier League title.

Lukaku, 24, joined United from Everton in a deal that could eventually be worth £100m (€112m) on Monday (10 July), despite having designs on a return to Stamford Bridge.

Cascarino, who played for Chelsea for two years, believes Lukaku will help Manchester United cause more problems to their opponents and says the Belgium international will win games on his own at Old Trafford.

But the former Marseille hitman thinks the former Chelsea starlet is far from being 'the finished article' and will not be able to guide Manchester United to the Premier League title, with a couple more additions needed before Jose Mourinho's men can really challenge for domestic glory.

"Is Lukaku the finished article? Nowhere near," Cascarino wrote in his column for The Times. "Is he improving? Definitely. He is a striker with an exceptional goals ratio who will change Manchester United's style, allowing them to stretch the opposition, giving midfield players an opportunity to hit the ball into space and wingers a target to aim at. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was brilliant, but they will now be able to get on the other side of the back four.

"I see the Belgian as part of a jigsaw for Mourinho. His goals and natural strength will win games, but it takes more than one player to claim a title and they're not there yet.

"He is more than worth his initial £75m fee, though. Chelsea's long pursuit of Lukaku is evidence of his stature, even if their half-hearted bid for their former player suggests that not everybody at the club was as convinced as Antonio Conte, the manager."

Cascarino suggests that Conte was not entirely convinced by Lukaku, but reports last week claimed the Italian was left fuming by Chelsea's failure to capture Manchester United's new superstar.

With Diego Costa seemingly on his way out of Stamford Bridge, the Premier League champions are in desperate need of a new centre-forward.

Real Madrid forward and former Manchester United target Alvaro Morata is believed to be on their radar while Torino forward Andrea Belotti is also a possibility, though the Italy international's €100m release clause may cause issues.