Leeds United and Brighton & Hove Albion reportedly showed interest in signing Jordan Lukaku from Lazio in the summer.
Neither of the two English clubs were able to sign the left-back and he ended up joining Antwerp on a loan deal last month.
Watford were given an opportunity to sign the 26-year-old by Simone Inzaghi’s side, and this has been revealed by the player himself during an interview with Gazet van Antwerpen.
In a lengthy interview with the Belgian newspaper, the brother of Inter Milan star Romelu Lukaku was asked when he decided to leave the Serie A side.
Responding to that, he said: “Euuuh … (thinks) Did I make that decision? Not really. They made that decision. Two days before deadline day. They wanted to send me to Watford. But then I said no and started calling around myself.”
Lazio’s decision to offer him to Watford convinced him to look for a new club and he received some help from the former Manchester United striker. 
“I also had Antwerp in my head quite quickly. I knew; they play the right system, they play European, they are ambitious… I thought it was the perfect team,” Jordan explained.
“I talked about it with my brother and he also immediately said: ‘Do it!’
“Antwerp is the best solution. Romelu himself also called around – he knows people who know [Luciano] D’Onofrio [Antwerp sporting director] well. And I also brought in Peter Smeets to make contacts here.”
