ROMELU LUKAKU HAS completed his record-breaking transfer from Manchester United to Inter, the Serie A club confirmed.
The Belgium international has moved for a fee understood to be €80 million (£73m), making him Inter’s most expensive signing.
Lukaku signed a five-year contract with the Nerazzuri after a two-season stay at Old Trafford, as Antonio Conte landed the striker he has long hoped to acquire.
“Inter were the only club I wanted, because Inter is ‘Not For Everyone’. I’m here to bring the Nerazzurri back to the top,” said the striker.
Lukaku’s move brings to a close a protracted saga that has rumbled on for much of the close season, with it becoming clear early on United wanted him out.
The 26-year-old joined United from Everton in 2017 for a fee in the region of £75m, the Red Devils beating Conte’s Chelsea to him on that occasion.
He was first-choice striker for the best part of 18 months under Jose Mourinho, scoring 16 Premier League goals in his first campaign, but the Portuguese coach’s successor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer preferred the more mobile and agile Marcus Rashford to lead the line.
Lukaku still managed to make an impact, scoring twice in United’s famous Champions League turnaround away to Paris Saint-Germain in March, but those goals proved to be his last for the club.
Transfer rumours swirled right from the start of United’s pre-season, with Lukaku often training apart from the rest of the squad due to an apparent injury, but behind the scenes Solskjaer is said to have been irritated by his attitude.
Solskjaer was reported to have given Lukaku a dressing down after the Belgian leaked confidential data about the United squad’s top running speeds during pre-season on social media earlier this month.
In doing so, Lukaku attempted to disprove criticism about his perceived lack of pace, as the data showed him to be the second quickest United player behind Diogo Dalot, but his post also exposed Juan Mata and Luke Shaw – both among the slowest – to ridicule.
Lukaku is not thought to have returned to United since, having spent time training with his former club Anderlecht this week, despite the Red Devils’ apparent demand for him to return on Tuesday.
Despite previously appearing close to joining Juventus in a swap deal involving Paulo Dybala, Lukaku arrived in Milan during the early hours of Thursday to finalise his switch.
The deal sees Inter break their long-standing transfer record of €49m, paid to Lazio for Christian Vieri in 1999.
🤳 | THIS PLAYER...#NotForEveryone @RomeluLukaku9 pic.twitter.com/pDuKLiNS58
— Inter (@Inter) August 8, 2019
How have United pulled that off
@Mossy: pulled what off? He scores in every second game and was by far United’s highest goalscorer in the last two seasons.
@Paul Mallon: Never worth what we bought him for anyway in a million years, attitude, style of play etc. To get that amount for him is a coup. Just wished they replaced him.
@Paul Mallon: Remember you from last season constantly slagging him and united off, come up with something original besides boring trolling.
@Paul Mallon: Pogba was highest goalscorer last season mate
@Alan Brazil: well you have never seen me slag him off, I’ve always liked him, he’s a different type of player but he always got goals, Utd fans have been going on about how he doesn’t fit into our style of play!!! What utter tripe, if you have been watching Utd play the last 3-4 seasons, they don’t have a style of play, it’s been a higgledy- piggledy mish mash of players that have no idea what way they were supposed to be playing with zero continuity. Lukakus goals will definitely be missed. Especially as no replacement has been signed,,but the real problem for Utd is the manager,,Òle is nowhere close to being in the top 10 managers in the premier league,, and with Spurs and Arsenal doing as well, if not better in transfers for this season, top four is out of reach for another season. IMO
@Alan Brazil: pure waffle, IV never slagged him off. Seems United fans never want to be questioned on anything, fierce sensitive
@Paul Mallon: being United’s top scorer the past two seasons doesn’t mean much
@Paul Mallon: Ipswich fan actually.
@Paul Mallon: He went 8 months without a goal at old Trafford in 2019?He is a good player but to get 70 million for a player deemed surplus is brilliant
United have not replaced him and will live to regret it
@Sean Seanie O Shaughnessy: I’m confident the players still at the club will perform better within the system Ole wants to play, what is concerning though is the lack of a Plan B, all of the forwards currently at the club offer something very similar, which could lead to a lot of predictabilty in how United will set up.
Mid-table at best for utd..
@munsterman: Based on what fellow Munster man ?
@munsterman: ah in fairness twill be 6th at absolute worst
This guy has had a problem at every club he has been at . Going to serie A is a step down
@Shane Lad: Going to a Champions League club in one of Europe’s Top5 leagues is a step-up.
His style is only suited to a certain type of club , where other players on his team can set up scoring chances for him , with their hard work and getting ball in the box for him , an old type cf imo .
The guy was a disgrace the last two weeks, posting training data on team mates, training in Belgium without notifying his current club. That on top of publically admitting being over weight, complete lack of professionalism, good riddance.
For the first time in the last number of years United have come out the right side of a transfer deal financially….