In case you didn’t know (and we understand why you would have missed it since it’s remained quite under the radar), Romelu Lukaku wants to leave Manchester United this summer.
Yes, it’s shocking news, but the Belgian striker doesn’t feel as loved as he once was at Old Trafford, and in a barely-reported-on interview, he expressed his desire to play under Antonio Conte.
Since then, it’s been relatively quiet, with very little news about Inter’s struggles to meet Manchester United’s demands being published, while his agent keeps a low profile during talks with the Serie A side.
Thankfully, in a rare article on the matter, Corriere dello Sport are kind enough to give us a much needed update on the situation.
As things stand, Inter have yet to make an official offer for Lukaku, as they’ve discovered, through talks with Federico Pastorello (the discreet agent we mentioned earlier) that the Red Devils would not accept their terms of a two-year loan with an obligation to buy.
This means the Serie A side have to wait, needing to gather the required funds first, yet they might not have the time to do so.
The latest twist in this exciting affair is Juventus knocking on Ed Woodward’s door and letting him know they are also looking at the former Everton star.
Corriere do suggest this could simply be a ploy to get Inter to hurry up, but they do also point out Fabio Paratici, the Serie A champions’ technical director, and Pastorello tend to always be in touch.
Either way, Woodward is said to have welcome this Juventus interest ‘with a smile on his lips’, which allows him to stand his ground on the €75m or so demands they have made so far.
That update was worth the long and torturous wait, wasn’t it?
