Everton striker Romelu Lukaku is the perfect replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic as he looks poised to re-unite with Jose Mourinho for £75million
The 24-year-old will fit in seamlessly into the Red Devils squad, with the Belgian international already a proven Premier League goalscorer
JOSE MOURINHO looks to have beaten old club Chelsea to the signing of Romelu Lukaku, after a £75m fee was reportedly agreed between Manchester United and Everton on Thursday.
There had been speculation in Spain that United were close to completing a deal with Real Madrid for their striker, Alvaro Morata, but it’s Lukaku who is expected to board the United plane for the tour to the USA on Sunday, and not the Spaniard.
The former Anderlecht man is the ideal solution to Mourinho’s striking problems which have been thrown into chaos following the unfortunate injury to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and the collapse of Antoine Griezmann’s proposed move to Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid last month.
Mourinho moaned repeatedly about United’s shortcomings in front of goal last season and knows that his team can’t afford to make the same mistakes again if they are to mount a serious title challenge.
In the case of Morata, the risks were there for all to see. Joining a new league and coming to terms with a new culture was never going to be easy, and as we’ve seen before, some players take time to adapt.
In Lukaku though, and having worked with the player, albeit briefly before, Mourinho knows that he’s acquiring someone who is Premier League proven and ready to hit the ground running.
Lukaku offers everything Ibrahimovic did in front of goal, but with the added bonus of being able to run the channels and stretch the opposition defence.
This was evident last campaign with him scoring 25 times in the Premier League alone and walking away with Everton’s Players’ Player of the Year award and the Player of the Year gong.
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A potential spanner in the proposed move was thought to be Lukaku’s relationship with Mourinho, which was reportedly strained following the Belgian’s departure from Chelsea in 2014.
This has always been something the forward has been quick to deny though and speaking in 2015, Lukaku said: “I went to Mourinho’s office to ask if I could go.
“I signed the deal with Everton at 11 o'clock and the first text message I got on my old BlackBerry was from Mourinho saying: ‘Good luck’.”
We should also have never doubted Mino Raiola and his part in the deal.
The agent not only represents Lukaku, but Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, all of which joined United last summer and impressed helping United win the Europa League and return to the group stages of the Champions League.
Over the comings days, eyebrows may well be raised over the size of the fee, especially for a player who has very little European experience.
But, at the age of 24 and with his peak years ahead of him it could well turn out to be money well spent by United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward.
This one isn’t quite over the line just yet and we might see one or two twists and turns, but, it looking like Lukaku’s unfinished business is with Mourinho and not Chelsea.
