Romelu Lukaku wore an Inter shirt for the first time yesterday – albeit it wasn’t one of the Nerazzurri’s traditional black-and-blue numbers.
The forward picked up one of the turquoise green shirts worn by Antonio Conte’s side in Singapore, as Inter lost 1-0 to Manchester United in the International Champions Cup.
Corriere dello Sport today reported Lukaku avoided questions about his future in the mixed zone, apologising to journalists before boarding United’s team bus.
Inter remain keen to sign the Belgian international but their latest offer worth €60 million was rejected earlier this weekend.
Lukaku was left out of United’s match-day squad for their third preseason friendly, with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer officially blaming a knock the striker sustained in training.
The impression, however, was that Lukaku had done nothing to attempt a recovery and wanted to send the Red Devils’ hierarchy a clear message.
“Lukaku is one of the best strikers in world football but we’ve done well in these first three friendlies without him,” Solskjaer said yesterday.
Inter will need to sell either Mauro Icardi or Ivan Perisic if they wish to increase their offer beyond €60 million.
Beppe Marotta and Piero Ausilio will discuss the state of talks with Antonio Conte tomorrow, when Inter’s management meet for a transfer summit with Suning boss Zhang Jindong.
Conte confirmed he hoped to sign Lukaku after the match at the National Stadium, claiming the striker would be ‘a big signing’ for Inter.
