DONE DEAL: Romelu Lukaku leaves Manchester United for Inter

Romelu Lukaku has signed for Inter on a five-year contract, leaving Manchester United after two seasons. Lukaku joins Inter in a move that had been touted for most of the summer. Almost immediately after the end of the season, Lukaku issued a not-so-subtle “come and get me” plea to Inter, calling the new nerazzurri coach Antonio Conte “the best in the world.” Conte had long been an admirer of the Belgian, having first tried to sign him while manager of Chelsea, and later in the summer made his interest explicit: “Lukaku is a good player, a striker I tried to buy when I was the coach at Chelsea.”

Lukaku did his part to help force the deal through as well, effectively going on strike in the past few days. United’s now former no. 9 was dressed down by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for his recent behavior, and responded by training with his old club Anderlecht and failing to report to Carrington. Even though he was fined two weeks wages, the club were happy to let him leave provided that his valuation was met.

Inter will reportedly pay €80m, including add-ons.