Transfer: Why I left Manchester United – Lukaku
Chelsea returnee, Romelu Lukaku, has revealed why he had to leave Manchester United to better himself as a player.
It comes as he returns to the Premier League two years after departing the Red Devils to sign up to their Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Exactly a decade after joining the Blues for the first time, the Belgium international is back at Stamford Bridge with a point to prove.
It has been quite the journey for the 28-year-old, who managed just 10 Premier League appearances during his first stint in west London before signing for West Brom and Everton on loan.
After impressing at both, he permanently joined the Toffees before United forked out £80m for his services in 2017.
But Lukaku never fitted Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tactics and just six months after his arrival as manager, the striker was shown the exit door when Inter Milan came and landed him for around £73m.
In 96 appearances, he scored 42 times for United – by no means a terrible record but at the San Siro he exploded.
In his first season, Lukaku scored 34 times before following it up with another 30 last year – helping them win Serie A for the first time in 10 years.
And he has admitted he had to leave United to bolster his skills as a striker while he prepares to return to the Premier League as one of the best in the world.
He said: “The Premier League has a bit of everything and the experiences I had a few years ago were great.
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“I loved every minute of it on and off the field, but the experiences in Italy made me more complete as a player.
“Now it’s just about what I have learned in Italy.
“Watching the Premier League over the last few years, the players have got better, the teams have got better and I am ready for the challenge.”
Thomas Tuchel will be hoping Lukaku can convert the many chances that the Blues create after being disappointed with last year’s crop.
Out of Timo Werner, Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud, only one remains after the latter two moved to Italy and joined AS Roma and AC Milan respectively.
Between the three of them, they netted just 16 Premier League goals – a total that Lukaku matched by February in Serie A (who enjoy a winter break) on his own.
Tuchel already has an idea on how to best use the striker as he prepares for his debut against Arsenal this weekend.