Romelu Lukaku wasn’t very good this year, but it should come as no surprise that some of the biggest clubs in Europe are plenty interested in the big Belgian striker.
Manchester United has given a new rich contract to center forward Marcus Rashford, and Lukaku reportedly wants to leave Old Trafford after a terrible season by his standards.
Inter Milan has been widely linked with him, and Sky Sports says the Serie A side is in England for talks with United, even more intrigued now that serial scudetto winners Juventus are reportedly creeping around the striker. The quoted fee is around $94 million.
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Lukaku just turned 26 in May and is coming off his worst season, well, ever. He scored 12 goals in 32 Premier League appearances and two more in nine Champions League runs.
But United was a mess last season, and finishing wasn’t exactly in form for them. Not only did Lukaku have his goal numbers dip, but his assists sank dramatically.
The Belgian has been a magnet for six or seven assists a season, but only produced one this year.
What both Juve and Inter are betting on is Lukaku’s down year being an aberration, and it’s a safe bet considering he was a big time producer with West Brom, Everton, and United.
And that’s why I have to think Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is seeing Lukaku report to United preseason and hoping he can persuade him to spend another season at Old Trafford. It’s hard to envision the striker failing to show up, and he did score three goals in his only international caps of the summer.