Lukaku chooses Manchester over Chelsea

Manchester United completed the £75 million signing of Romelu Lukaku yesterday, beating out Chelsea who were rumored to sign the player all summer. The 24-year old Belgium International comes to United on a five-year deal reuniting with his former boss, Jose Mourinho.

To many people, the move comes off as a surprise. Many believed the big Belgian was on his way back to the Stamford Bridge and to join last year’s champions. Antonio Conte had denounced Diego Costa in the news and sold Chelsea’s young prospect Dominic Solanke to Liverpool, in order to create room in the squad for the striker.

The transfer would have followed Chelsea’s recent trend of repurchasing players they had sold. The main examples of this being David Luiz and Nemanja Matic, who were both instrumental in Chelsea getting the title. Moves like those lead many to believe Lukaku would continue the trend, but it turns out the allure of playing for the champs and his former home just wasn’t enough. Manchester United, at the last moment, hijacked the deal by offering more than Chelsea and when the Blues matched the offer it was too late.

Another element that makes the move interesting is it was Jose Mourinho himself who sold the striker from Chelsea to Everton back in July 2014. So ultimately Lukaku ended up picking the manager who quit on him before over Conte, who was the one cutting people from the roster to make room for him.

Comments on the move

Jose Mourinho, who was delighted with the move and said, “Romelu is a natural fit for Manchester United. He is a big personality and a big player,”

“He will be a great addition to the group. I am really looking forward to working with him again.”

Lukaku, when explaining his surprising decision said, “When Manchester United and Jose Mourinho come knocking at the door, it is an opportunity of a lifetime and one that I could not turn down.”

Morata’s overpricing pushed United to make Lukaku move

Ultimately the signing of Lukaku was not United’s first choice for replacing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but the team grew increasingly frustrated in chase of Alvaro Morata. Real Madrid would make ridiculous counteroffers every time the Red Devils made a bid, to the point Morata would have cost more than Lukaku.

So United made the focus change and swept up a more productive and proven striker. It might turn out that not signing Morata and ending up with Lukaku was the better move. When you compare the two strikers it’s almost hard to believe Morata is rumored in the same price range. Romelu Lukaku has 168 senior first-team goals, a month after turning 24 meanwhile Alvaro Morata has only 67 senior first-team goals, 8 months after turning 24.

The next step now for United is to keep securing the spine of the team. The two summer signing so far have helped but now the key is finding someone that can sit next to Paul Pogba in the middle.With the main target being Eric Dier from Tottenham. Spurs will probably be reluctant to sell the player but that hasn’t stopped United before.

Everton and Chelsea dealing with the aftermath

As for the other team involved in the transfer, Everton will have to replace Lukaku. Which is easier said than done. The Belgian scored 40% of the Toffees goals last year and most of the team game-play revolved around him on the pitch. So no matter who they signed you will see a new Everton going into next season.

However, Everton is not waiting to get talent into the squad having already done nine transfers. Including bringing Wayne Rooney from United alongside one the most promising prospects in Sandro Ramirez. This two striker as of now will have the huge responsibility of replacing Lukaku’s goals or Everton will be taking a step back next season.

The other team this deal affects is Chelsea who are now left in the hunt for a new striker with preseason right around the corner. The champions will have to act quickly to get a forward because as of now it looks like they only have one in Michy Batshuayi, who only scored five goals last season. That is nowhere near what is needed to win a title.

Missing on Lukaku might mean trying to reconcile with Diego Costa, who at the beginning of the summer was told he was not needed. The Blues have to act fast and get a world-class striker or they might struggle to defend the title without a pure striker. Without one they will have to change the way they played from last year. Many reports are now coming out that they want the former Manchester United target Morata, Chelsea will have to make a decision overpay for a striker that is their second choice or try to make things work with Costa. Either option is not ideal but keep an eye on what Chelsea does in the coming days.

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