Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku says he is still developing as a striker and urged his critics not to judge him too harshly during his current dry spell.

The Belgium striker came flying out of the blocks when he made the switch to Old Trafford from Everton in a £75 million deal in the close-season, scoring 11 times in his opening 10 appearances.

However, since then Lukaku has gone six matches in all competitions without a goal, and manager Jose Mourinho has been on the warpath with the club’s supporters after interpreting boos from some of the Old Trafford faithful when he replaced Marcus Rashford with match-winner Anthony Martial during last week’s 1-0 win over Tottenham as a lack of support for Lukaku.

“I think a lot of people are judging me as the finished article,” Lukaku told Sky Sports.

“I’m 24 – you can’t judge me as the finished article. I’d rather have a year where I improve, improve, improve rather than going straight to the top and then declining.”