Real Madrid's Alvaro Morata a better fit for Manchester United than Lukaku, says Rene Meulensteen

Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen thinks Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata is in a difficult situation in the Spanish capital but believes he has the attributes necessary in order to succeed at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils are believed to be close to concluding a deal which could be worth €80m for Morata, who found regular game-time hard to come by under Zinedine Zidane, and Meulensteen believes the Spain international would be a better fit for United than Everton forward Romelu Lukaku and Torino's Andrea Belotti, who are both expected to make big-money moves this summer.

"Obviously [Romelu] Lukaku knows the Premier League and has played in the Premier League for many years," said Meulensteen, speaking to 888Sport. "He has plenty of power but I'm not too sure he has the kind of DNA that we'd like to see at Manchester United.

"[Alvaro] Morata is a good striker but he's in a situation where he's in the wrong place at the wrong time. I like him though: he is mobile, agile, and creates chances.

"The same can be said of Belotti but both would be coming from abroad and would have to adapt to the Premier League which we all know is difficult. If Belotti comes in it's important that he scores early and get the monkey off his back. Then he could be a good fit.

"For me though it would be Morata. We haven't seen enough of him lately but then again it is extremely hard to get into that Real Madrid team."

While Meulensteen would seemingly be happy to see Morata join Manchester United, he is worried that the potential arrival of the Real Madrid hitman will have an adverse effect on Marcus Rashford.

The 19-year-old featured 53 times for his boyhood club last season and played a vital role in Manchester United's Europa League success, but Meulensteen does not want to see Rashford shoehorned out wide or sidelined altogether by Jose Mourinho.

"I like Marcus and I've worked with him when he was a little kid coming in to the Cliff at seven years of age," Meulensteen added. "He came in with a smile and left with a smile. He couldn't wait to start training and training was always short for him. There was only one level of energy that he would bring.

"I bumped into him recently at Michael Carrick's testimonial and we had a chat. He's still got those things and that's important because as a professional you get exposed to a lot and you need stability in your life."

"I'm so happy that he has already got so many games and he's only going to get better the more that he plays and the more things that he gets exposed to. A lot depends on what type of striker [Jose] Mourinho brings in.

"If they spend a great deal of money on someone there might be a chance that Marcus is again shifted out to the left or right. He can play there for sure but his best position is up front. I really hope that any new signings don't side-line Marcus completely because that would be a real shame."

Read the full 888sport interview with Rene Meulensteen, including his thoughts on how Manchester United was always going to be a stepping-stone for Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.