Romelu Lukaku needs to put rows with Jose Mourinho behind him to become a Manchester United star
Striker was rated by his then-Chelsea boss as not having what it takes but could be the man to restore Old Trafford glory days
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JOSE MOURINHO was convinced Romelu Lukaku simply did not have what it takes.
So how could the Belgian possibly be recast as the man to shoot Manchester United to the title?
And is it really feasible that the two of them can be on the same page for the next 10 months?
It was at the start of the 2013-14 season when Lukaku revealed Mourinho felt he lacked the drive to compete at the very top.
He had just been the final penalty taker in a shootout against Bayern Munich for the European Super Cup.
A couple of steps and a feeble side-foot shot were not enough to beat Manuel Neuer.
As the dust still settled on that defeat against Mourinho’s arch rival Pep Guardiola, Lukaku said he wanted out.
He did not want to fight for one of the striker places with Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto’o.
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It was easier to go somewhere else, somewhere where he would be the No 1 no matter what. He went to Everton first on loan then in a £28million permanent deal.
Mourinho was enraged when, after getting off to a decent start at Goodison Park, the player claimed his old boss had made contact to check his progress.
The Portuguese countered: “There are things in our lives that we have to keep private but one day he scored and said he hoped Jose was watching.
“It was like saying, ‘Why did he let me go?’. And that is what I’m telling him now, ‘Tell the country why you left’.
“When you enjoy to speak, speak everything. Don’t speak only half of it. Speak everything.
“It’s a simple question, ‘Why did you leave Chelsea? Ask him’.”
Mourinho would answer the question for him when he joined the Toffees permanently the following season.
He said: “Romelu was always very clear. His mentality and approach was he wasn’t highly motivated to come to a competitive situation at Chelsea. He wanted to be clearly the first-choice striker.”
The situation has thawed to the point that Mourinho now wants to make him the most expensive striker ever at Manchester United.
Everton have accepted a bid of £75million, his old club have been blindsided and the Belgian looks like he is returning to the now welcoming arms of Mourinho.
What has changed? Well the 24-year-old accepts he has grown up, reflecting on his time at the Blues and saying: “I was 20 and I wasn’t ready to be effective in a top team.
“Everyone says it is Mourinho’s fault but it is not his fault because I made the decision. I went to his office to ask if I could go. He was the first one to say, ‘Good luck’.”
It will be ‘good morning and welcome’ very soon if Mourinho gets his way. He recognises a young talent who now has the right approach and is ready for a big challenge.
Mourinho has shown in his work with Juan Mata, who he also let leave Chelsea, that the past can be put behind him. As he admitted with Mata, different times, different circumstances can produce different results.
He was wrong for him then but right for him now and the same can be said of Lukaku.
What a player he has become in his time at Everton, with his goal tally increasing each year — from 16 to 20, 25 and the 26 last season which got him in the PFA team of the year.
He scored in nine straight home league games last season — matching a record set by Dixie Dean in 1934.
The signing has landed Mourinho a regular Prem goalscorer at the top of his trade.
It will also show once again the might of United even if they have fallen from the pinnacle.
Champions Chelsea thought they had Lukaku.
United have come in and look to have nabbed him.
Real Madrid thought they could mess with executive vice chairman Ed Woodward over the small print in Alvaro Morata’s contract. But he effectively told Real president Florentino Perez to forget it.
Now they are left with a player they do not need and nobody else will be paying the £70m fee United were close to agreeing.
United have moved on, so has Lukaku. To use his own words, ‘The page is turned on both sides’.
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