Ever since Romelu Lukaku turned down Everton’s club-record contract offer at the start of the summer the links to him and Chelsea have been endless, almost to the point that you expect his transfer to be announced, however on Thursday the BBC, whom I am starting doubt, posted an article on their website saying that a senior official at the club had informed them that a £75m fee had been agreed for a deal with Man United. Sky had been reporting it too, however, there was no concrete evidence in either article. No quotes, no specific sources cited, nothing.
Lukaku is in LA, along with Serge Ibaka (Spanish-Congolese Basketball-player), and reported close friend Paul Pogba. A couple of days ago he posted on his Instagram story of him and one of his friends, who was wearing a Man United shirt, which had sparked a few rumours. Also, on Friday night Phil Neville posted a photo of big Rom in the new Man Utd kit, however quickly following it up with “hahaha it’s a joke guys calm down”. Of course, the photo could have been edited, however, I have looked for a while now and cannot find that photo of him not in a United shirt, and if it was edited, it was done very skillfully. The way that the front corner of his collar is folded down and fits his neck perfectly makes it look very much like an unedited photo.
To me, the shirt fits him too perfectly to be a fake
It would be very unusual for a photo of him to be taken of him in a shirt before he’s actually signed, and surely Phil Neville would be taking a HUGE risk posting this when it’s not been announced. However, we did see leaked photos of Paul Pogba in United shirts before the move was announced, but not by a public source like Neville.
If Lukaku does join United he would almost certainly be accused of “snubbing” Chelsea. As a United fan, I’m used to this “snubbing”. Seeing as United are linked to any player who has a half decent season it’s not uncommon. One of the examples is when Antoine Griezmann announced his plan to stay at Athletico Madrid. He said that a move away whilst Athleti were transfer banned would be a “dirty move”, so he snubbed United. Also, Michael Keane joining Everton, Saul Niguez signing a new contract and Raphael Varane staying at Real Madrid were all reported as “snubbings” of United.
United have let go of last season’s superstar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, meaning that without the signing of a prolific striker next year they would struggle for goals, and if they want to mount a title challenge they would find it impossible. Lukaku would be the perfect fit; quick, strong, experienced in the premier league and would really help the development of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial by providing vital assistance to their pace and surging runs.
For me, it does look like Lukaku will leave, as Everton have spent around £90m this summer, which is one of the reported fees, and they would surely need to sell off a few players to top up their transfer kitty. United currently look like the leading club to sign him, but don’t be surprised if Chelsea swoops in like they did with the Pedro deal the year before last. In fact, it is also being reported that they have matched United’s offer, however, the BBC are not citing any sources or even mentioning where they got their news from. At least with the United article, they said that they had got it from a “senior United official”. Sky are reporting that Everton want £90m, and if that’s so it will be a race for who can get him to sign on the dotted line first.
The BBC are really slipping though. It happens often over the summer, however this year it has been worse than ever. All these bogus articles on Lukaku, Perisic and Sanchez just bore me, and I can’t take them seriously.
I’m sorry this post is a put together a little oddly, I am writing this on Friday night as I’m away over the weekend, and it’s all just unfolding whilst I write, so it’s hard to keep up.
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Billy
Update: United have now confirmed they have agreed a fee with Everton for Lukaku and he will be going for a medical and contract negotiations.
In the dugout 