Romelu Lukaku missed Manchester United’s first exhibition friendly in Australia last weekend (a 2-0 win over Perth Glory) due to a minor injury, but he had been expected to feature in the second one last night versus Leeds United.
However, the Belgian was left out of the team that won 4-0 at Opta Stadium entirely, increasing speculation surrounding the player’s uncertain future. According to various media outlets yesterday, Inter Milan have bid £60 million for Big Rom. It remains to be seen whether United would accept such an offer, as they’re likely holding out for more money.
They paid £75 million, before add-ons, for Lukaku in 2017, so they hope to recoup as much of that amount as possible, especially given how well aware they are of Inter’s current desperation to get a new centre forward. Unfortunately, Lukaku is listed among the footballers who have supposedly seen their projected transfer market value decrease. His devaluation is among the worst of anybody worldwide, so it will be interesting to see what kind of price United could get on the sale here.
They may not want to move him, but might have to, given how much both the player and the buying team want the transaction.
The ESPN transfer column writes that: “While the Red Devils are open to payments spread over multiple fiscal years, they are looking for at least £20 million up front to cover Lukaku’s international amortized value for the coming season.”
As for the game itself, which Lukaku missed, United got goals from Mason Greenwood, Phil Jones, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial. Yes, even Phil Jones scored. The match also marked the debut for both Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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