Martin Keown suggests Everton’s struggles without Romelu Lukaku have taken many by surprise

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Martin Keown believes that few expected Everton to struggle as much as they have since Romelu Lukaku departed for Manchester United.

Martin Keown has told the Daily Mail that he believes that few would have expected Everton to be so adversely affected by Romelu Lukaku’s move to Manchester United during the summer.

Lukaku moved in one of the summer’s most notable deals, with the Daily Mail reporting that he moved to Old Trafford for £75 million.

And the Belgian has taken little time to adapt to his new surroundings, scoring six times for Jose Mourinho’s men to leave them second in the table but only on goal difference.

Meanwhile, the Toffees have made a much more sluggish start to the campaign. Everton are in the bottom-half of the table, and have scored just four goals between them in the top flight – two less than Lukaku – and Keown suggested that few would have anticipated that Ronald Koeman’s men would find life so difficult without Lukaku.

“I said at the start of the season that Lukaku is the player who determines where the title goes,” he told the Mail.

“He has already had a big impact at Manchester United — and I don’t think many predicted how adversely his departure would affect Everton.”

Though Keown thinks that many would have been surprised by Everton’s struggles in front of goal, a look at their transfer business during the summer suggested that that was always a possibility.

Wayne Rooney and Sandro Ramirez were added to the ranks, while signings like Henry Onyekuru suggest that they have one eye firmly on the future, but there did not appear to be that marquee striker addition amongst the new faces, and now it appears that they are paying the price for not having that established focal point.