 |
José Mourinho has explained where did it go wrong for Romelu Lukaku at Chelsea and Manchester United.
Lukaku joined Chelsea from Anderlecht in 2011 and spent three years in the Blues' books, two of which saw him getting loaned out to West Bromwich Albion and Everton, who signed him on a permanent deal in 2014.
Mourinho then signed the Belgium international for United in the summer of 2017, but whilst Lukaku showed glimpses of the player the Red Devils thought they were signing, his time at the club perhaps didn't fulfil the promise it was supposed to.
Lukaku amassed 42 goals in 96 appearances across all competitions in just two seasons at the club before being sold to Inter Milan.
The 28-year-old has since rebuilt his reputation with Inter as he led the Nerazzurri to their first Scudetto in 11 years with 24 goals in 36 league appearances.
And Mourinho is clearly very aware of the new levels of quality that his former player has reached in Italy, noting the evolution he has gone through.
Speaking to The Times, the AS Roma boss said:
These two years at Inter Milan have given him the stature and the self-confidence that he didn't have before.
At Chelsea, he was still a kid. At Manchester United, he was still developing. At Inter he became the top man. He became loved - a big love from the supporters, love from teammates, great relations with the coach.
He's a big guy, physically so strong, but there is also a kid inside who needs that love, needs that support, needs to feel important.
