Inter Milan have completed the signing of Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku from Manchester United for a club-record fee of €80 million (US$90 million), with the player signing a five-year deal with the Serie A club.
Lukaku, 26, spent two seasons at Old Trafford after joining from Everton, scoring 42 goals in 96 games across all competitions.
However, he was not seen as part of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans for next season and had caused anger by spending the past two days training with Belgian club Anderlecht.
United had reportedly come close to agreeing to a swap deal with Juventus for the forward which would have involved Argentine star, Paulo Dybala, heading the other way, although that fell through this week over the forward’s wage demands.
But a deal has now been struck with Inter, managed by former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, who had also been pursuing Lukaku and finally got their man on Thursday.
? | THIS PLAYER…#NotForEveryone @RomeluLukaku9 pic.twitter.com/pDuKLiNS58
— Inter (@Inter) August 8, 2019
Lukaku is his country’s all-time top scorer with 48 goals in 81 games. Manchester United wished their former player all the best with his move to Italy.
?? @RomeluLukaku9 departs for Italy with our thanks and best wishes for the future.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 8, 2019
Inter finished last season fourth in Serie A, a distant 21 points behind title winners Juventus.
On the announcement of his arrival, Lukaku said he was “here to bring the Nerazzurri back to the top.”