Today is the day that will see Romelu Lukaku face his former team, Everton, for the first time since joining Manchester United. Lukaku had been heavily linked to Chelsea, a team for which he previously played, but United stepped in and swooped up the Belgian in a £75 million deal.
Why did Lukaku move to Old Trafford instead of re-joining his former team? It’s been thought and said that his relationship with Jose Mourinho, the current United manager and his former boss at Chelsea had a lot to do with it. On the even of the United-Everton match, Mourinho said that is not the case.
The Portugese says that the transfer was all about the money, and in the process took a subtle swipe at the club he used to manage.
When queried about signing Lukaku, Mourinho responded: “I don’t think it was my influence, no. I think we paid the money that Everton asked for and we paid the player the wages that his agent asked for and we paid the agents the commission that they asked for.
“I think that was the way. I don’t see another reason. We paid what Everton asked for. The seller club is the club that decides the amount the buying club pays or doesn’t pay. With Romelu my club decided to pay and they got him.”
At his weekly news conference on Friday, Mourinho had this to say about Lukaku facing his former side:
“He’s playing well, there’s a good relation with the way our striker and the way the team plays, and I’m happy with that relation between the striker and the team. I think Romelu comes in the right moment, at a good age, with a good number of years of experience in different clubs in the Premier League.”
“He’s clearly a player already adapted to the Premier League, with good friends already in this dressing room, with an easy interaction into our group. He came at the right moment in his career.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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