Ever since Romelu Lukaku burst onto the scene with Anderlecht as a 16-year-old, he was tipped for stardom.

However, the Belgian's road to being a world-class player has not been that easy.

After being signed by Chelsea in 2011 for a fee rising to £17 million, the powerful forward failed to impress in his first year in England and was forced to ply his trade on loan for the following seasons.

Despite successful seasons at West Brom and Everton, where he scored a combined 32 Premier League goals in two seasons, Lukaku was deemed not good enough for Chelsea and was shipped off to Everton on a permanent basis.

His goal-scoring exploits at Everton finally saw Lukaku make the transition to one of the best strikers in the world, and he was rewarded for his success by making a £75 million move to Man United in the summer.

LUKAKU HAS HAD MIXED SUCCESS AT MAN UNITED

Despite scoring goals at will in his first few months at Man United, Lukaku was still criticised by his own fans after a lack of goals throughout October.

And Jose Mourinho even felt the need to defend the under-fire striker last month, by claiming he was 'untouchable'.

Mourinho said: "For me, he's untouchable in my team and I think he should be untouchable in the support and the respect he deserves from the fans.

"Look, the fans are the fans and I also said that the fans pay for their tickets and are free to express themselves the way they want to express.

"But my job is to protect my players when I feel they deserve it.

"And Romelu always deserves it because what he does for the team is fantastic."

LUKAKU NAMES THE 3 STRIKERS HE WAS TOLD TO COPY 

Lukaku has attributed his success in recent years to his improved movement, and credited Belgian boss Roberto Martinez for instructing him to improve that aspect of his game by copying three players.

Speaking to Belgian publication DH, as per the Mirror, Lukaku said: "I've improved my movement, especially in the box.

"Two years ago, at Everton, Roberto Martinez made me watch videos of my own movement, but also those of other strikers like Hugo Sanchez, Edinson Cavani and Chicharito.

"You need to sit down and watch the Uruguayan's movement inside the box. It's incredible. On top of that, I worked three times a week on my runs inside the box with my coaches."

Martinez's advice seemed to help, as his improved movement has helped him become one of the most lethal strikers in the Premier League.