Coming off the back of his best season in the Premier League, it wasn’t a surprise that so many clubs were keen on acquiring Romelu Lukaku’s services during the last transfer window.
Add on top of everything the fact the Everton striker’s agent happens to be Mino Raiola, who was having the equivalent of a carboot sale over the summer, and you had material for days of transfer rumours.
He said: “I’m not going to lie. There was a specific club in England who was really keen to buy me, but Everton’s new staff made me understand they didn’t want me to leave. What can you do when that happens?”
Happy to stay for another season at Everton under Ronald Koeman, Lukaku also made it clear that his wish was to win the Premier League: “That’s the trophy I want, that’s what I work for, to win that title”.
Once achieved, and there’s very little doubt he has the ability to play in a team that will give him a chance of doing so in the near future, the Belgium international also explained giving other leagues a go, such as La Liga or Serie A (even Ligue 1), isn’t to be dismissed.
However, that could only happen on one condition.
He said: “For that to happen, I would need the club to fulfil a few conditions, including having a manager who believes in me. There’d be no point signing somewhere and realising the system they play doesn’t suit me.”
Does that mean we can rule out Barcelona, Romelu?