Romelu Lukaku cut a disgruntled figure yesterday as Manchester United beat Inter in the International Champions Cup, as Tuttosport reported this morning.
The Belgian watched from the stands as Mason Greenwood’s strike secured a 1-0 win for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, in a match he would have wanted to play for Inter.
Lukaku’s only smile of the evening arrived when Antonio Conte greeted him at full-time, before giving his top transfer target a pat on the back.
“He was mostly scowling whenever the TV cameras focused on him, apart from the odd occasion when he joked around with fellow teammates on the United bench,” the paper recalled.
“Despite not playing in the match he managed to obtain an Inter shirt and took it out of the ground with him. Perhaps he wanted to try it on to see what it felt like?”
Inter will discuss their next move for Lukaku when Beppe Marotta and Piero Ausilio arrive in Nanjing for a transfer summit with Conte and Suning’s hierarchy tomorrow.
The clubs remain distant on their valuations for the striker, with United demanding €88 million and Inter offering €60 million plus €15 million in bonuses.
Edin Dzeko is more likely to sign in the next couple of weeks, although Inter also have a gap to reduce in their negotiations with Roma.
The Giallorossi’s €20 million asking price remains somewhat higher than Marotta and Ausilio’s latest €12 million offer, but a breakthrough should be made when the latter pair return from Asia.
