•The striker was training in Belgium with the Under 18s at his old club Anderlecht
•Lukaku is hopeful of securing a move to Inter Milan before August 23 deadline
Image: REUTERS
Romelu Lukaku is set to return to England after being fined £400,000 by Manchester United for going AWOL.
Lukaku, 26, has angered United by turning up at his old club Anderlecht to train with the club’s Under-18 squad for the past two days as he pushes for a move away from Old Trafford. The Belgium international did not have United’s permission and will be fined the maximum two week’s wages.
Lukaku did not turn up at Anderlecht on Wednesday and is expected to fly to London to meet his agent Federico Pastorello as talks continue over a move to Inter Milan.
United have rejected a £54million bid from the Italian club, but Inter are set to return with an improved offer. The two clubs have until the Italian transfer window closes on September 2 to strike a deal, with United unlikely to sign a replacement before the Premier League deadline at 5 pm today.
Lukaku has become an increasingly isolated figure in recent months with teammates accepting it would be better if he moved on two years after arriving at Old Trafford for £75m from Everton.
Some of them were upset at the weekend when he posted confidential stats from a sprint session to prove that he is one of the club’s quickest players. Lukaku was second only to Diogo Dalot, but the stats also showed that Luke Shaw finished last behind Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told Lukaku to delete the post from his Twitter account and reminded him of his responsibilities. He had a day off on Monday and would probably not have trained with the senior squad on Tuesday after missing the entire pre-season with a mystery ankle injury. But that still didn’t excuse the unauthorised sessions at Anderlecht under his old coach Mo Ouahbi, and it has proved to be an expensive mistake.
Inter Milan are still pursuing the forward and discussed an improved offer for Lukaku on Wednesday morning. His agent Pastorello is due in London to meet United and convey details of a new bid from Inter as Antonio Conte looks to get his man before tomorrow’s deadline. Lukaku saw a move to Juventus collapsed last week after Paulo Dybala failed to agree on terms in a proposed swap deal.
United are exploring alternatives should Lukaku go, with Mario Mandzukic and free agent Fernando Llorente among those offered.