Scout Notes – Untimely blank for Lukaku

Manchester United laboured to a 1-0 win over a dogged Brighton, with Romelu Lukaku blanking once more as managers’ heads turn to other big-ticket options.

Romelu Lukaku’s yo-yo ownership this season is on the fall again after a fifth failure in six matches, as a good proportion of his owners now prepare a move for Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata.

The Belgian’s blank against a determined Brighton was a big blow for the 1.3 million (24.8%) Fantasy Premier League bosses who handed him the armband, although it was perhaps telling that just 19 of the top 100 managers captained him, while 30 went for Harry Kane.

Lukaku did manage five shots, with two on target, although four of those efforts were with his head as United struggled to carve out clear-cut opportunities.

The worry is that the big striker’s downturn is now spreading to home matches. Prior to Saturday’s blank, he’d only missed out once at Old Trafford in six matches.

An upcoming trip to Arsenal, followed by the Manchester derby, might not be the fixtures for Lukaku to emerge from a slump that has seen him passed by Morata and caught by Harry Kane at the top of the forwards’ scoring chart.

Just one goal in six Gameweeks has prompted early sales ahead of a trip to Watford on Tuesday. Lukaku is the most sold asset so far, with more than 50% of those sales heading to Morata.

The possibility of more midweek minutes for Zlatan Ibrahimovic is only likely to accelerate the abandonment of FPL’s most-owned player.

Low key Pogba

If momentum is eluding Lukaku, it was very much with Paul Pogba heading into the Brighton match, with more than 380,000 new managers expecting great things from the Frenchman.

What they got were rumours of an overnight absence from the traditional pre-match Lowry Hotel meet-up and his manager insisting he wouldn’t be playing any more than 70 minutes.

And even though the midfielder ended up completing the full 90, it was a shift considerably more low-key than his explosive 12-point return from injury against Newcastle.

Not that any of that has dissuaded yet more managers from acquiring Pogba with the Watford match in mind – he’s already the fourth most popular purchase of Gameweek 14, claiming more than 13,000 new owners.

And it would seem that when he’s fit, he plays, which could be crucial in the hectic weeks to come.

De Gea stretches lead

In the continued absence of Phil Jones, any number of United defensive assets are continuing to pile on the points.

Top of the shop is David de Gea, whose ninth clean sheet (including six in seven home matches) took him a massive 18 points clear of the goalkeeping pack.

His hefty 5.8 price tag is clearly not putting off his 42% ownership – only two players are in more FPL squads – while another expensive pick, Antonio Valencia (6.7) is now just five points shy of Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta in the defenders’ standings.

We can’t be sure when Jones – who dropped in price to 5.4 overnight – might return, but Chris Smalling has now made seven straight starts and costs the same as his injured England colleague, so defensive options across the budgets are still available at United.

Gross shines to claim maximum

Brighton’s biggest Fantasy success story, Pascal Gross, continued to punch above his 5.9 price tag with a five-point display Old Trafford despite failing to fetch attacking returns.

Instead, the 19.7%-owned midfielder hoovered up maximum bonus points from a display involving three key passes and five tackles won.

Gross now has 14 bonus points for the season – more than any other midfielder and matched only by Kane.

He is the fifth most signed player so far heading into Gameweek 14, just behind Pogba.

The Fantasy gods were less kind to Brighton defenders Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy, who were equally impressive against United but received none of the rewards.

Dunk even had the ignominy of scoring the decisive own goal, his second of the season. The first came against Man City.

Meanwhile Duffy – along with striker Glenn Murray – picked up their fourth bookings and are now one shy of a one-match suspension. The “local derby” with Crystal Palace now looms for the pair, with Murray facing his former employers.

Beyond that, Brighton’s schedule is hardly accommodating – they face Liverpool and Spurs in the next four Gameweeks – though they continue to impress, while Gross’ stock will likely remain strong.