Romelu Lukaku completed his £75million move to Manchester United this week, and has revealed the club had been interested in him for some time.
It looked almost inevitable that the Belgium international would be returning to Chelsea this summer, with Antonio Conte identifying him as the ideal replacement for the surplus Diego Costa. However, it is United who will be able to call upon the 24-year-old’s services in the new season.
Jose Mourinho, who sold Lukaku during his time in charge of the Stamford Bridge club, has used £75million of his budget on the striker, a fee which could rise to £90million in time. But according to the player, he was a target for the Reds even before the Portuguese arrived last summer.
“I knew about United’s interest for about a year, a year and a half,” Lukaku told NBC. “To be part of the biggest club in the world and hopefully to be able to challenge for trophies – that is a dream of mine. I am going to give everything every day to make sure it gets back the glory that it had in the past.”
Lukaku becomes United’s second arrival since the end of last season, following the £30million capture of Benfica defender Victor Lindelof. Mourinho is now expected to increase his efforts to take Ivan Perisic, the Croatia international winger, from Inter Milan in a deal worth around £45million.
