:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55623845/686436742.0.jpg)
Well, this is all very amusing. Manchester United have confirmed the signing of Romelu Lukaku from Everton. We don't know the fee yet, and there's a medical and personal terms to be agreed. But look! A tweet!
#MUFC is delighted to announce a fee has been agreed with Everton for the transfer of Romelu Lukaku, subject to a medical & personal terms. pic.twitter.com/O7oQJWzYHo
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 8, 2017
Lukaku arrives with one of the best goalscoring records in the Premier League. Though he failed to score in his handful of games for Chelsea, he’s plundered freely away from Stamford Bridge. After scoring 17 in 38 for West Bromwich Albion in 2012-13, he moved to Everton in 2013-14 and scored 86 goals in 166 games. Given United’s failure to take chances over the last few seasons, that sounds ideal.
He’s not yet the finished article — his touch can occasionally let him down, and there are suggestions that he doesn’t quite turn up in the biggest games. But then, United have generally struggled to take their chances against anybody in recent years, and he is only 24. Plus now he’s got Paul Pogba to pass him the ball.
This is all made a little spicier by the fact that until a few days ago, Lukaku’s move to Chelsea was considered a formality. Quite how the regime at Stamford Bridge managed to cock this one up remains to be seen, as does the implications for United’s move for Alvaro Morata. But ultimately, United have picked up one of the best strikers in the league. Sounds good to us.